Days Gone Bye
by tanglingshadows
Summary: It was her eyes that drew him in and held him in place, his brother's one armed push that brought them together, and a bond forged in loss that helped them find their way. Bethyl but Merle-centric, too. S3 AU
1. Chapter 1

Days Gone Bye

This takes place in S3 when Merle is still at the prison.

The prompt came from abbyli, and I hope she loves it! Thank you for sharing theories and keeping Beth alive :)

She asked for a little time between Merle & Judith with Beth, and some insight into what life had been like when Merle was a boy and Daryl was born.

It sorta snowballed other directions because I love Merle, and I wish he were still around.

This hasn't been seen by my editor, so all mistakes are mine.

* * *

><p>Judith lay sleeping in the crook of her arm as she walked around the small cell.<p>

She had left the main area of the cell block nearly an hour ago to try and get her to nap and had only just succeeded. Beth sighed and tried to relax her shoulders, but her muscles still burned. She had never known that just holding a baby would be such a work out.

"She finally give in, blondie?"

His gruff voice would have surprised her a couple of week ago, but she had heard the scrap of his boots seconds before he was at her cell.

_Observant. _

That's what Daryl had been teaching her to be.

"Hey there," she said with a welcoming smile. "I's just about to lay her down."

Merle stepped through the cell door and held out his arms. "Why don't ya let me hold her for a minute?"

Beth looked at him closely before nodding. "Sure. Why not?"

Merle grinned and looked down at the baby. She knew that he was a tough, hard man, but sometimes she would catch a hint of something else in his eyes. Especially when he looked at Judith or Daryl.

After handing her off, she stood awkwardly for a moment before sitting down on the bottom bunk. She wanted a nap, but knew that would never happen, so she settled for resting her elbows on her knees and watching as Merle swayed a little with Judith in his arms.

* * *

><p>Daryl had just gotten off watch, and he decided he would go find Beth for some training exercises, if that's what anyone else who knew would call it. He wasn't even sure what made him offer to give Beth pointers, and he didn't want to admit to anyone that he really liked spending time with her away from everyone else either.<p>

That would mean there was something there besides feeling the need to help her learn to protect herself, and Daryl wasn't ready for that.

He made sure to quiet his steps as he reached the area of the cell block she usually went to during Judith's nap time. Just a little test to see if she was on her guard. He paused suddenly as he heard her speak.

"Ya hold her like a pro," she said in a quiet, happy voice.

Daryl wondered who she was talking to, and when he heard his brother's voice, he had to stop himself from storming into the cell. Merle was a good guy, but he could be crude as hell, and Beth didn't need to hear his nonsense.

When he actually heard his brother's words, though, he stopped and gripped the strap of his bow. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but Beth Greene made people feel like they could open up, and for some reason, that's just what Merle seemed to be doing.

"I's almost eleven when they brought Daryl home. Spent most of my time takin' care of his ass."

"What about school?" She asked and Daryl wished he could peek around the wall and look into the cell and see her face. Her voice never gave anything away, but her eyes spoke exactly what she was feeling.

He didn't like her knowing about his shitty family life. Didn't want her pity at all. Not when she sometimes looked at him like he was one of the best men she had ever known.

"Didn't care too much for school," Merle answered. "Got my GED tha first chance I got. I ain't stupid or nothin'. Just hated bein' all cooped up, so I ditched and took care of Daryl." He paused, and Daryl let out a breath slowly, hoping he was done, but as he continued on, his chest started to ache a little at his words. "Momma worked durin' tha day, so she had to leave him with our old man. He wasn't worth a shit, and I came home one day and found Daryl just a wailin' in his crib, only a couple months old. I asked if he'd fed him yet, but Pops just socked me upside the head, and said it wasn't none of his concern then went back to drinkin'.

"I made him a bottle like I'd seen momma do, and then I never left him again. I've been there for all of it really. 'Cept for those few years I went off to tha military. Daryl was old enough then to take care of himself, or I thought he had been."

"Wow," Beth whispered. "I'd've never thought—"

"Thought what?" Merle asked in a rough voice. "That I'd give a shit?"

"No," Beth said quickly. "That's not what I was gonna say. I just—I never thought about how y'all grew up. Just figured y'all were tha rough and tumble type naturally, but not because ya had to be that way since ya were born."

"It was either that or die," Merle said quietly.

Daryl's breath was starting to come out in soft pants, and he closed his eyes. He tried not to think about growing up in that house with his old man. How his brother, who he thought was his best friend in the whole world, left him to fend for himself. He had known that Merle was the reason he was alive to begin with, but it had always stung to think about him leaving like he had.

"Ya must love him a lot to come here, knowin' that ya wouldn't be treated all that well," Beth said quietly.

"He's my blood. I'd do anythin' for him."

He almost snorted. They always broke it down to the most basic reasoning for them to look out for each other. Maybe Merle was like him and thought they couldn't really love anything. They just weren't built that way; so instead, they just chalked up caring to their DNA, which in itself was shitty.

"And he did anythin' for you, too. He left with ya," she said, and he heard the bunk squeak and wondered if she was sitting down or standing up.

"Hung my ass out to dry in Atlanta, though."

At that, Daryl took half a step before Beth's voice caught him. "Daryl said he went back for ya."

He finally peeked around the wall and watched as Beth ducked her head. Merle's eyes were glued to her face as he smirked. "Well, well, well, that's interstin'."

"What's interestin'?" She played off and picked at her jeans.

"Just that, ya say it like ya know for sure."

"I can read people really well most of tha time," she lied and a pink tint lit her cheeks.

"Uh huh," Merle said and started to walk toward the crib to lay down Judith. Once she was situated, Merle stood straight and looked back at Beth who was looking at her shoes. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was staring a hole straight through her.

"What?" She asked and looked up at him, her eyebrows were pulled together.

"He's always been tha sweet one, my baby brother. Ya couldn't do no better," Merle said, and Daryl pulled back a little at the pride in his voice. He had never heard him talk like that before.

"I know that," she whispered back.

Daryl's heart started racing, and he took two steps back and leaned against the wall, trying to figure out what he had just heard when Beth started talking again.

"No one really pays attention to me around her, so I hear thangs." Beth cleared her throat.

Merle chuckled, and Daryl heard the creaked of metal as he leaned against the writing desk maybe. "Just what tha hell ya think ya know, blondie?"'

"Don't take Michonne anywhere," she spoke in a quiet, determined voice. "I knew tha moment ya said that Rick didn't have it in him, that ya meant to do it yaself."

"Ya don't know shit," he muttered. Daryl could imagine Merle's jaw ticking as he worked on keeping his anger in check, but he couldn't step forward. He wanted to hear the rest.

"Whatever it is ya think you need to do to prove yaself, ya don't have to. I think we both know this is a suicide mission, and even if tha Governor gets Michonne, that doesn't mean he's gonna stop. He wants this prison."

"That's tha truth."

"Then we need ya here when that happens. Daryl'll need ya here."

"He don't need me no more," Merle argued. "He's done well for himself."

There was a few seconds of quiet, and Daryl tried to figure out who to be more pissed at. Merle for thinking he could pull off something like that or Rick for putting the idea in his head to begin with. He was no closer to the answer when Beth's voice broke him out of this thoughts.

"You'll break his heart, Merle. You'll die if ya go, and we both know it. Don't do this to him. Ya said ya been with him every step of tha way, so keep on bein' there beside him. Ya ain't go shit to prove to anybody here."

Silence filled the cell again, and Daryl was sure that Merle was about to storm out, so he took another step back, continuing to try and process what he had just heard.

"I'll tell him," she threatened. "I'll tell him everythin', and tha minute your ass is out those gates, he's gonna be on your tail. Ya wouldn't want anythin' to happen to Daryl."

"Neither would you," he argued back.

"I don't want to see Daryl hurt," she whispered, and he felt his heart skip a beat. "He's my friend."

"Friend, my ass," Merle with a snort. "I'll keep an eye on it for ya," he said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Nothin', blondie. Ya ain't gotta worry about shit. I ain't takin' Michonne nowhere. Governor'll come this way with or without her, and I ain't gonna get my hand dirty for Officer Friendly, no matter how nice this prison life is. When he comes, though, I'll do what it takes to keep my brother safe."

"I'd never ask ya to do less than that. Ya ain't stupid, ya know a trap when ya see it, and regardless what people think of my survivin' skills, I'm _not_ just another dead girl. I can read tha signs."

Merle laughed out loud and Beth shushed him. "Sorry. Sorry" His brother said, and Daryl could hear his steps toward the door. "Who taught ya?"

"Taught me what?" She asked and Daryl backed away some more.

"How to read tha signs?" Merle asked then laughed again. Daryl could only picture the blush that took over her face.

At that moment, Merle stepped out of the cell and locked eyes with his brother. There was a moment of shock, but quickly covered up with a smirk and wink. He walked past him and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"That one's just ready for tha pickin', baby brother. She'd do just about anythin' ya ask her to."

"I wouldn't—"

"Oh, I know, but I'm tellin' ya, this is your shot, boy."

Daryl felt the tips of his ears heat up, and he tried to shake it off.

"There ain't no sense in tryin' to be noble. A girl wants ya, ya want her back."

Merle took a step past him, and Daryl decided to ignore him talking about Beth and all those unnamed feelings balling up in his chest. "Ya ain't gonna do shit, are ya?" He asked before Merle turned the corner.

"Not today." He caught his eye and kept walking.

Daryl heard all the words that went unspoken, though, and he decided real quick that maybe it was time to return the favor and keep an eye on his brother.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

Let's see where this goes, shall we?

Unedited. Sorry for any glaring mistakes.

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><p>They were all gathered around the tables in the dining area of the prison, and Beth watched closely as Daryl leaned against the far wall next to Merle.<p>

The past couple of days, he hadn't even tried to find her for their usual lessons. She had heard Merle talking to someone outside her cell after he left, and figured it must have been Daryl by the way he had been acting around her. Embarrassment coursed through her veins when she thought about what he might have heard.

She should have known that he was just being kind, but the crush she had got even bigger once he started making time just for her. He was such a nice man, and he had the best grin when he let his guard down and actually showed it.

He probably looked at her and thought she was some too young, love-struck teenager. It was true, there was an age gap, but hell, she had grown up more in the last two years than most people did in their twenties before the turn. Still, everyone treated her like she was their little lady. They didn't mind that Carl, who was at least four years younger than her, carried a gun and used it, or that he was viewed as a more skilled protector than her.

That part was true, but she had value, and she knew things.

It was her that had broken up the fight between Merle and Glenn the other day. She wasn't scared of guns or walkers. Beth was scared of being ill prepared, and that's what everyone was making her by pretending she was too soft to learn how to take care of herself. She also wanted to know that she was able to protect Judith if things went downhill.

"The Governor wants Michonne," Rick said and brought her out of her thoughts. "That was tha deal he put on tha table when we met. I shoulda told ya, but I couldn't. I wanted to hand her over and save us, but I don't think that's gonna help us in tha end. We all know that this has to be a group decision. I ain't gonna be makin' 'em for us. I'm not your governor."

Everyone's eyes subtly shifted to Michonne, who was sitting on the stairs.

The silence stretched until Merle opened his mouth and said, "Take her there and make it a trap." Beth watched as Michonne cut her eyes at Merle and he smirked. "What? Ain't like ya don't want a shot at his ass. Let me take ya to him, and we'll kill him."

"He won't show up alone," Rick said, shaking his head.

"Then we don't either," Merle said and shrugged. "One of y'all can be our sharpshooter."

"I could do it," Carol said quietly. Merle looked over at her, and something flickered in his eyes, causing Beth to wonder if she wasn't the only one harboring a crush.

"See, Carol's got tha balls for tha job." She rolled her eyes at him and his grin widened. He definitely had a crush, Beth decided.

"Only way this goes down is if I go with ya," Daryl said, and Beth's heart dropped.

"Don't need your ass there," Merle said.

"Ya ain't gonna get tha all clear otherwise."

"Who died and made you boss, Darylina?"

A sudden idea rushed through Beth's thoughts, and she started talking before she even registered what she was doing. "This plan isn't gonna work. You and Daryl are too threatenin'. He'll know y'all _can_ and _want_ to kill him. What if y'all hide out with Carol for support, but I take Michonne down?"

Everyone got real quiet and stared at her for a moment.

"Absolutely not," Maggie said with a strength she hadn't heard since she'd been back from Woodbury. "You're not goin' anywhere near him."

"It's a good idea," Beth argued. "He'll think we're tryin' to make this all go away, and do it tha least confrontational way possible. If it's Merle, he's likely to kill him just for bein' Merle. And if Daryl goes, he'll want to kill him for bein' Merle's brother and for what happened at Woodbury. We cain't send you and Glenn for obvious reasons. Carl is smart, but he's also a little jumpy," she looked to Carl and gave him an apologetic smile. "And Rick, if ya go, y'all will end up in a battle of words that might end with guns bein' drawn."

Rick shook his head. "Makes sense for Hershel to go, but not you."

"Michonne said he had a daughter," she reasoned. "A little blonde girl. Maybe if me and daddy go together, he'll think of his own child and be so thrown off that he won't even notice when tha bullets start flyin'."

"I vote no," Maggie said. "We leave here and don't look back." Then she walked into the cellblock.

Glenn looked between them all and sighed. "I vote with Maggie." Then he trailed after her.

Rick looked over the group and said, "It's got merit."

"Ya've gotta be kiddin' me," Daryl gritted out.

"No," Rick said quietly. "If her and Hershel take Michonne, it will throw him long enough for us to get tha advantage. We might even kill him and few others."

"I can do this," Beth said firmly.

Daryl pushed off the wall and walked toward the tables where everyone was. "Ya've done lost your damned mind," he said to her. "Ya don't have a clue what you're gettin' yaself into. He ain't gonna see ya as and innocent or stop. He's gonna see Michonne and how we sent our two weakest to lead tha charge. He'll know somethin's wrong right off tha bat."

Beth flinched back and looked down at her hands. She knew that she wasn't as good as the others yet, but hearing Daryl call her weak hurt.

"I could-"

"Ya ain't," he said and stood in front of her table then turned back to Rick. "Me and Merle take her or we come up with a different plan."

Rick shook his head. "It ain't up to you. It goes to a vote."

"Got two 'no' votes already, me and Merle make four. Who else says 'no' to Beth and Hershel gettin' put in tha middle of shit?"

Slowly, Michonne and Carol raised their hands, followed by Carl.

"Who votes for them goin'?"

Beth, Hershel and Rick all raised their hands.

"Tha 'no' vote wins." Daryl looked at Beth. "Your ass stays."

Angry tears filled her eyes as she stood up.

"Screw you, Daryl," she said and flipped him off before she walked away and into the cellblock.

* * *

><p>Daryl swallowed the lump in his throat as she left. This was the best option, and knowing that she would be out of harm's way, helped him control the urge to follow after her.<p>

"No one's goin'," Rick said and Daryl turned toward him. "We let tha meetin' time pass, and we'll create a trap here. Let 'em come, and we'll take 'em out that way."

Everyone but Daryl and Merle nodded in agreement, and then they started coming up with a plan. A couple of minutes passed before Carol went and got Maggie and Glenn who were helping with strategy while Merle and Daryl stood off to the side again.

"I do believe I'm gonna go and take a piss," Merle said and started for the outside door.

Daryl watched him go and looked over at the high window as the sunlight streamed through. The meeting was supposed to happen today around noon. They didn't have much time after that until the Governor would be knocking down their gates because they didn't show.

He shifted his bow over his shoulders and followed Merle outside, and they both walked down the gravel driveway, unlocked the gates that didn't even have a person on guard duty yet, and after locking back up, they started toward the woods.

"Got a plan?" Daryl asked after they had been walking for a while.

Merle shrugged. "Not really. Been thinkin' about gettin' a drink, maybe guidin' a shitload of walkers to tha meetin' place."

Daryl nodded. "Couldn't hurt."

They walked on in silence until they found a bar with a few stragglers wandering around. Merle broke in a stole a bottle of whiskey as Daryl hotwired the only car in the lot. Once they were inside, Merle cranked up the radio as rock music blared from the speakers thanks to an old tape.

"Not too sure this is a good idea," Daryl muttered before taking a big gulp. "Gettin' lit before goin' and facin' off with this asshole."

Merle snorted before taking the bottle back. Walkers were gathered around the car, trying to get inside and tear off their skin, but the sight didn't make either one of them cringe.

After a couple of minutes, Merle started to slowly drive forward, and they would pass the bottle back and forth. Eventually, Merle turned down the music a little and turned to face Daryl.

"You were real insistent that blondie stay back."

Daryl choked and the whiskey burned the back of his throat and up his nose. After some hacking coughs, he glared at Merle. "She don't belong out here in this shit."

"She don't," Merle agreed. "Ya cain't protect her forever. Sooner or later, she's gonna have to get her hands dirty."

"Well, it ain't gonna be today."

Merle took a drink and passed the bottle back. "Why don't ya just fuck her already and get it outta your system."

He punched his brother's shoulder and Merle laughed. "It ain't like that asshole. She don't need to be with someone like me."

"What tha fuck's wrong with ya?" Merle asked. "She'd be lucky to have your ass."

Daryl just shook his head. "What tha fuck's gotten into you? Ya startin' to get soft on me?"

Merle shot him a look of pure disdain before he said, "Ya damn well know I ain't, but I'm about sick of this shit out here. All these people lookin' down on me and lookin' down on you. There ain't nothin' wrong with ya, baby brother. Not a damn thang."

"No one ever said there was," he said as Merle continued to barely move down the road, collecting more walkers as they went.

"Ya should go for it. Just walk right up to her and plant one on her."

"Yeah, I'm sure her daddy'd love that," he muttered and kicked the seat back.

"What's tha problem?" Merle asked. "'Cause you're older than her? She a virgin or some bullshit, and you afraid you're gonna dirty her up?"

Daryl could feel the heat in his cheeks, but he kept his eyes closed. "She deserves someone as good as she is."

Merle grunted, and Daryl heard the empty whiskey bottle hit the floorboard. "That's fuckin' bullshit."

Daryl ignored him and tossed his hand out toward the windshield, the warm buzz of the whiskey swimming through his veins. "Just drive, asshole."

* * *

><p>The walkers descended upon the old feed plant, and Daryl and Merle watched from the safety of their car as the pack of thirty or so walkers come up on the men that were there. It was another reason, in an already long list, as to why he was going to end up in hell, but Daryl didn't really care about the men that the Governor had brought with him.<p>

They didn't watch long before Merle turned the car around and started back toward the prison.

"Won't be long before he starts headin' our way," Merle said and pressed the gas harder.

"Nah, but I'm sure they've already got a plan in place. We just gave 'em some more time to get it together," Daryl mumbled. The whiskey was a lot heavier on his stomach than it ever had been before, and he wondered how Merle never got messed up like that.

"Ya gonna blow chunks, Darla?" Merle asked with a laugh.

"Fuck off. I'm fine," he lied and leaned the seat back again.

"Ya'd really be fine if ya let that blonde have a go," he said as he started to hit the brakes rhythmically, making Daryl's stomach roll.

"Even if she wanted a go, I couldn't." Daryl started reaching his arms out to hit Merle, but he kept moving out of the way.

"Why tha hell not? Your pecker stop workin'?"

Merle howled with laughter as Daryl shot up and started hitting his shoulder and arm as hard as he could. "Shut your fuckin' mouth. Hershel'd kill me."

"He don't give a fuck," Merle argued.

"Whatever," Daryl said and threw his arm over his eyes again, the sunlight was really getting to him. "Just get us back to tha prison. We got shit to do, and I gotta eat somethin'."

"You're a fuckin' lightweight."

He ignored that, and allowed his thoughts to drift to Beth.

She was a sweet girl—woman—he reminded himself. There wasn't anything girly about her anymore except for how she decorated her cell, and that was stuff she made for Judith.

He remembered what she had said to Merle the other day about knowing how good he was, and he had to admit that it made him puff up a little at the thought that someone like her could want someone like him.

Maybe, one day, when shit settled down, they could see what was between them, but it just wasn't the right time. The Governor was breathing down their necks, and they were preparing for another hard winter.

"I'mma get that girl one day," he mumbled through a hazy fog.

Merle patted his shoulder. "Ya sure are, baby brother."


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

Thanks so much for the response to the last chapter!

I think we're all a little tightly strung right now, so I hope this update helps a some :)

Unedited.

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><p>"Where've y'all been?" Rick asked as he pulled open the gate for them.<p>

"Around," Merle answered and slung his arm over Daryl's shoulder.

Daryl squinted up at Rick and watched as he looked between them. "Are y'all _drunk_?"

Merle laughed, "I ain't. He is." Daryl pushed his brother off of him and tried to walk in a straight line back to the cellblock. He wasn't bad off, but an empty stomach and half a bottle of whiskey didn't mix. "We went to tha meetin' place with a bunch of dead ones. We'll have until tomorrow, I imagine."

"I cain't believe y'all. Beth told me y'all would go there, and I told her she was overreactin', but she knew. Wanna explain that to me and Hershel?"

Daryl turned his head a little to look at Rick who was glaring down Merle. He held his hands up. "Oh no, no, no, Officer Friendly. It ain't me."

His gaze whipped around to Daryl who shrugged. "I've been helpin' her with some shit," he said and kept on walking.

He needed to get away from everyone for just a little while, and then prepare for what was coming up. They had bigger problems to worry about than Beth and him.

* * *

><p>"Ya really think I'd go after her?" Merle asked with a snort. "Anyone with fuckin' eyes can see how those two stare at each other when they think no one's lookin'."<p>

Rick stopped and turned around to face him fully. "Whatdaya mean?"

Since he had been back in this prison, Merle noticed that everyone seemed to have on blinders when it came to everyone else.

The moment he got to the prison with Daryl and things had settled down a little, he saw how Beth looked at his brother, how she always tried to talk to him or seek him out. A few days after they showed up, Daryl started spending a good bit of time around Beth, and they were both gone at the same time a whole lot.

At first, he thought his brother had been nailing the farmer's daughter, but he quickly found out that it was all innocent. Then when he went to her cell, hoping to catch his brother in there with her, he just found her and her kind smile with a mouthful of unwanted advice.

"It ain't nothin' yet," Merle said and shrugged. "And if it was, it ain't no one's business but theirs."

"I trust Daryl," Rick said with a nod. "If somethin's goin' on, it ain't 'cause he's forcin' it. Hell, if she manages to get him to do anythin', I'd be surprised."

They stood there for a several seconds before Merle said, "They just need a little push."

"Ya should leave it alone," Rick said and turned back to the prison. "We got other stuff to worry about right now."

"There's always a reason _not_ to do somethin'," Merle said and continued on, thinking of different ways he could get things started between his brother and the blonde princess.

* * *

><p>"Go away," she said when he stepped into her cell. She was sharpening her knife, well, it had been his brother's knife, but now it stayed on her hip. No one else noticed, or at least, they didn't mention it.<p>

"Well, hello to you, too, sunshine," he said sarcastically and sat down on her bottom bunk. "Where's tha baby?"

"Carol's got her," she said and sheathed her knife before turning in her chair to face him. "What do ya want?"

Merle shrugged and touched the construction paper ladybug on her wall. "Ya wanna bone my brother, ya should really redecorate. A man likes to know he's with a woman, and you're room screams little girl."

Beth flushed bright red and slapped his hand away from her wall. "Those are for Judith, ya asshole. And I don't wanna _bone_ your brother. Who even says that?"

"Ya wanna jump his dick," he said easily and watched her eyes widened.

"Get out, Merle," she said and pointed to the cell door.

"Just tellin' ya, he ain't gonna make tha first move. Ya want him? You're gonna have to be tha one to do tha work." He said and stood up, walking to a little garden gnome on the corner of her desk. "This shit's just weird, Greene."

Her heard her huff behind him as he eased out of her cell and toward the ledge that overlooked the bottom level of the cellblock. Everyone was running all over, preparing for their great ambush plan, and he was walking around the prison like he wasn't supposed to be there at all.

No one really paid him any attention, so he sat down on the stairs and watched them scurrying around like little ants.

"You've got one good hand and two good legs," Carol said from behind him.

"Got somethin' else that works, too, if you're interested," he said with a smirk.

"I'll pass," she said and sat down beside him. "If ya could help pack up some stuff or move some pallets, that'd be good, though. Everyone here is doin' somethin', and you're here now, so it's your turn to put forth some effort."

"I just made sure we had some extra time to prepare, woman."

"And get buzzed and get your brother, who hasn't had a drink in over a year, drunk. Ya've reached your quota for stupid shit today, Merle Dixon. It's time to be productive."

She stood up, and he followed after her, not really knowing the reason why. She was feisty and busted his balls when no one else would. He liked Carol. She was a good woman, but he knew that from before.

And so, he spent his afternoon, carrying pallets, barring doors, creating the perfect trap for the Governor's men, when he normally would have sat on the stairs and watched as the day passed, and he blended into the background.

* * *

><p>The plan went off without a hitch.<p>

That was lie. They were one guard tower short now.

The Governor, and what was left of his men, had run off, but based on what they had found after they followed them, it was pretty clear that he wasn't going back to Woodbury.

They bussed back the remaining Woodbury residents along with all the food in about two days, and once everyone was settled a little, him and Daryl went with Michonne to hunt the Governor.

After the trail went cold, Daryl and him stopped. She had revenge written all over her, though, and there wasn't a damn thing in the world that would stop Michonne from getting it and making him suffer for what he had done to Andrea.

Merle spent a good portion of the next week watching the new residents and getting a feel for them. Most of them were older, but there were some families with smaller kids, too. A few teenage boys that had managed to get out of the attack by playing sick or actually working the wall at Woodbury. They pledged their loyalty to Rick the moment he showed them what their leader had done.

Even though he understood the need to look to someone for guidance, but he had never been good about following. It was like there was a switch flipped inside his brain that always made him go the opposite way he was told. He didn't understand it, but he never questioned the compulsion either.

To kill time, he worked on fortifying the fences with the others and watching Daryl side-step Beth. It got downright funny to watch his brother tuck-tail and walk the opposite direction when the youngest Greene started their way.

When he got tired of all the dancing around, he caught his brother by the arm and said, "Quit bein' such a pussy. Ya gotta girl droolin' after ya, and you're gonna let one of those Woodbury boys take a shot at her."

Merle watched as Daryl clenched his fists. "Why do ya care so much anyway?"

"Ain't got nothin' else to do."

Daryl huffed and walked further down the fence, hitting his shoulder against Merle's as he passed him. They worked hard for few minutes before one of the other men along the fence whistled under his breath and caught nearly everyone's attention.

Merle turned his head to see what him and the other Woodbury boys were looking at, and caught the shine of blonde hair as Beth walked across the open prison yard, carrying Judith toward where her father sat.

"She's hot," one man said, only to get punched in the shoulder by another guy around Beth's age.

"Nah, she's beautiful," the kid said and stared her down with puppy dog eyes.

Merle snorted and turned back to work, only to see Daryl staring at the kid who was mooning over Beth.

"I wonder if she's with anybody," he said and leaned against his piece of rebar.

"Wouldn't hurt to ask," Merle said with a shrug. The kid looked over at him and grinned. He felt a little twinge of guilt for a brief second before it vanished as Daryl stomped off toward the cellblock.

The kid went back to work, but Merle kept his eye on Daryl and how Beth handed off Judith and followed after him.

"Boys, y'all kept tha fences safe for a minute. I gotta check some shit out."

No one questioned him. They never would. He chuckled to himself, waving his knife hand over his shoulder at them as he took off.

Inside the prison, he quietly walked down to Beth's cell. He got right next to it before he caught heated whispers, and he peeked around the edge of the wall.

As soon as he did, Beth wrapped her arms around his brother's neck and kissed him a whole lot harder than he ever though she could.

Daryl stood frozen in place for about two seconds before he kicked himself into gear and started kissing her back, pushing her back toward the desk.

"Who'd've thought ya were a peepin' Tom?"

Merle jumped and almost tripped over his own feet trying to straighten up. Immediately, he motioned for Carol to follow him so they wouldn't mess up what was going on in Beth's cell.

Once they were a good distance away, Carol nudged his side. "So, why were ya bein' sneaky?"

Merle shrugged. "Been tryin' to set 'em up since we got back. My brother's got a thick fuckin' skull, though."

"_You_ played matchmaker?" She asked, her face bunched up in confusion.

"Fuck no," he said and looked away.

Carol laughed and it made him want to smile, but he held it back.

"Who'd've thought." She reached and grabbed his forearm, squeezing once before letting go. "That was a good thang ya did there."

He grunted and went back to work along the fence, trying to ignore the weird ache he felt in the middle of his chest.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4

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{{{hugs}}} Tomorrow's the day!

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><p>Merle expected them to keep it a secret and sneak around like any other atypical pairing, but much to his disappointment, Daryl sought out Hershel Greene and laid it all out on the table two days after it started. He told him about his innocent crush that morphed into something bigger and unexpected, that he would never disrespect Beth or lay a hand on her, and that he would protect her until his dying breath.<p>

Well, what he had managed to get out ended up meaning those things, but his brother was a man of very few words and none of them were flowery bullshit, so the real conversation had been a lot shorter.

Hershel took the news pretty well for a conservative, old codger.

First thing he asked was if she was knocked up. Daryl had almost swallowed his tongue trying to choke out that "no" answer.

In the end, Hershel had sighed and tapped his fingers on his desk. "You're a good man," he had said. "Maggie won't like it."

Merle knew all of this, not because Daryl took him for backup, but because he had taken to ease dropping on things he felt were interesting.

It was damn prison for fuck's sake. There was only so much to do in a given day, and he wasn't like his brother, who was practically a damn squirrel for all the time he spent in the woods around them.

Hershel had been right, too.

Maggie had pitched a fucking fit when Beth told her, but she had managed to calm her down and pull her away. That was why Merle was surprised to see Maggie storming down the driveway to the fence where Daryl and him had been clearing off walkers.

She let into him as soon as she got close enough, calling him all sorts of names. Daryl stood there and took it for a while, and when she saw he wasn't going to holler back, she got real quiet and stared him down.

"Aren't ya gonna say somethin'?"

Daryl shrugged. "Don't really think it's any of your damn business, to be honest."

"She's my sister," she said like it should have been some kind of magic phrase to get him talking.

"Yeah," Daryl agreed and went back to slamming the pole through walker heads with a lot more force than before.

"What do ya have to offer her? Ya cain't even hold a conversation!" She huffed and threw her hands up in the air. Then Merle saw something click on her eyes, and she pointed a finger at his back. "Are ya bribin' her? Ya keep her safe if she keeps your bed warm for ya?"

Daryl tensed up and dropped the pole to ground before turning around and looking her dead in the eyes.

Merle saw the pure fury simmering under the surface. He knew that kind of anger. It had gotten him into trouble many times, so he kept himself at the ready to step in. He might have been an asshole, but he knew better than to let his brother do something he would come to regret.

"Ya really think I'd do that to her? Use her like that?" He took a few steps forward but stopped short of where she was.

"You're twice her age. What am I supposed to think?" She shouted at him, and Daryl clenched his hands into fists.

"If that's what ya think, I guess that's just what ya think." He muttered as he side-stepped her and started walking toward the prison.

"What're ya lookin' at?" Her voice was tight as a bowstring when she finally looked to Merle. "You're trash," she said in a sure voice. "Families tend to be cut from tha same cloth so I can only assume tha same about him."

Merle hummed and nodded. "Well, you're theory's got a hole in it. Beth ain't a judgmental bitch, and y'all are kin."

She flinched. "It's just a matter of time before he shows his true colors."

"And what're they?"

"Bein' like you," she said in a harsh whisper.

Merle chewed on his bottom lip then said, "I did some pretty questionable shit when I's with tha Governor and even before that. If that's what's got ya all worked up over Daryl gettin' with your sister, stop. He ain't me. Never has been." He paused. "Didn't say it before, but I'm sorry for what happened to ya 'cause of me."

She didn't look convinced at all, and he wasn't surprised when she turned from him and went back up the yard toward their cellblock.

He didn't let it bother him too much as he went back to thinning out the walkers along the fence. Merle did worry about Daryl, though. If Maggie pushed too much, he would back off Beth faster than they could blink.

He hoped Beth was ready to put up a fight.

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><p>She heard his heavy boots walking down the corridor and smiled to herself.<p>

They were settling in pretty well in her opinion. Her daddy had been supportive and didn't make a scene about it. Maggie had been a tougher sell, but after a few hours of talking several days in a row, she had left Beth's cell with a quiet resignation earlier.

The rest of the group didn't care one way or the other.

Everything had been great so far, and he was so present when they were together.

Daryl might not have been a naturally affectionate man, but she could tell that he had feelings for her. When he was teaching her a little something about fighting, his hands would linger on her shoulders or her hips. He smiled a lot more than before. Not full blown, show his teeth smiles, but little grins where the corner of his mouth would quirk up.

After his watch the last two nights, he stopped by her cell before going off to his own. Beth wanted to ask him to stay with her, but she didn't think he was ready for that yet, even if it was just sleeping side-by-side.

Beth finished folding up Judith's blanket right as he walked through her door. Her eyes met his, and she knew instantly something had happened.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head and looked at his feet. "This ain't gonna work."

"What ain't?" Beth knew the answer, though, and her heart started racing as she clutched at the blanket she was still holding.

"Whatever tha fuck this is," he said as he motioned between them. "'M sorry."

Before she could speak he walked out, leaving her staring at the spot he had just been standing. She let out a small gasp of air as her heart broke then sat aside Judith's blanket and sat heavily in the chair next to her desk.

Just this morning before he went off to the fence, he had mentioned her going hunting with him later, and now he was backing off?

Beth shook her head and stood up.

There was no way she was going to let him call everything off without him giving her a real reason. She stood up and started out the door right as Maggie walked in.

"I don't really have time right now," she said and tried to go around her, but Maggie blocked her exit. "Seriously, move."

"I went and talked to Daryl. I think I got this all straightened out for ya," she said, her voice full of conviction.

Beth rolled her eyes and laughed humorlessly. "Well, thank ya for screwin' stuff up. I'm off to try and fix it again."

"You can do better than him, Beth."

She stood up tall and met her sister's eyes. Beth knew that she meant well, that she was trying to look out for her, but treating her like a child was getting old.

"Ya don't know him like I do," Beth said quietly. "And ya don't deserve to know tha kindness that he has if ya pass judgment so quick. You take care of you, and I'll take care of me, okay?"

Maggie shook her head. "When ya make tha wrong decisions, I have to step in."

"No, if I was makin' tha wrong decision, it would be up to me to get out of it. If I was makin' a bad decision, then daddy woulda voiced his concern. Just leave it alone, Maggs. Let me see where this goes for us."

"I don't like it," she said in a huff.

"Ya don't have to," Beth said with a sigh. "Don't go near him about this again. There's only so many times a person can hear they're not good enough before they really start believin' it."

That made Maggie's shoulders slump a little as guilt settled over her features. She didn't say anything else as Beth walked through the door and turned to the right.

She had her knife at her hip, and figured that he didn't have too much of a head start on her. She dodged all the others that lived in the prison as she made her way out a side door and then down to the first gate. She slipped through and waved to Merle as he stared her down.

"That way?" She asked when she got close enough. He nodded his head and killed the last two walkers that had been pushed up against the fence. "How many where along tha fence when he went out?"

"Ten," he answered and propped the pole against the chain link.

"He's pretty upset," she said and looked to the woods.

"He'll be even more pissed if ya head out that way lookin' for him, too."

Beth smiled and slid the gate open just enough to get out before pulling it back into place. "Lock up," she said. "I'm goin' huntin'."

Merle snorted and put the carabineers in place. She could feel his eyes on her until she disappeared from view and into the trees.

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><p>It didn't take her long to find Daryl. He wasn't hunting like he was supposed to be doing; he was sitting on the ground, back to a tall pine tree.<p>

"So," she said quietly, and he tilted his head up. "Wanna tell me why ya broke up with me?"

He flushed and looked away. "Just think ya deserve better's all."

Beth sighed and sat down beside him. "Daryl, I'm old enough to decide what I want, and I want _you_. I think you're amazin'. You're sweet and kind, but ya look at me sometimes like I'm somethin' ya'd like to eat right up." That caused his ears to turn even redder. "I don't mind that at all. In fact, if ya're up for it..." Beth bumped her shoulder with his.

"Beth, girl, I don't got good blood. I'm bound to do somethin' real stupid one day."

"And when that happens, we'll figure out how to get past it. Besides," she said and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Merle thinks we'd be perfect together, and I'm sure he's right."

"Merle ain't never been right about anythin'," he scoffed but tilted his head against hers.

"He's right about this," she whispered and turned her face towards him. Daryl didn't say anything else, but he didn't need words when he used his lips like that.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

I'll be updating this fic on Wednesdays and Sundays from now until complete.

Side note: Several weeks have passed between Ch. 4 and Ch. 5.

Enjoy!

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><p>Merle paced the prison yard, watching as Rick tilled a fucking garden.<p>

Months ago, he had said that he was a damned mystery to himself, but now, he was pretty sure Rick was in the same boat. The man had put down his gun—refused to carry the damn thing. Merle thought it was the stupidest decision ever, and he had seen and done a lot of dumb shit in his time.

"I know he's attractive, but I don't think he's gonna like ya like that," Carol said as she walked up beside him.

He cut his eyes at her and paused in his walking. "Ya ain't nearly as funny as ya think ya are."

She shrugged and the corner of her lip twitched up.

Over the last few weeks, him and Carol talked a lot more. Most of the time it was trading barbs, but they had serious moments, too. Those usually brought on uncomfortable feelings that made his skin feel too tight.

One of those moments happened a few days before when she had cleaned and wrapped his arm because his stump had gotten raw from the knife appendage.

She talked the whole time about shit he already knew. How she had stopped going to the hospital after they looked at her with nothing but pity in their eyes. How if he ever got a broken rib or dislocated shoulder, she could fix him right up.

Then she looked him in the eyes and started talking right to him. Carol asked him if he liked her hair, and when he nodded, she told him what the inmate that had been killed in the Governor's first attack on the prison had thought about it.

_"He thought I was a lesbian," she laughed humorlessly. "Do you know why my hair was so short when we met?"_

_Merle swallowed hard and held her stare, sensing she was testing him in some way. "Ya got your hair buzzed off to keep that asshole ya married from grabbin' somethin' when ya tried to get away."_

_Carol nodded. "He got a hold of it once and yanked a handful out. One of tha most painful thangs ever." She paused. "I'd like to think if he came through that door right now and told me to come on, I'd tell him to go to hell."_

_"He wouldn't make it through tha damn door," Merle muttered and hopped off the table. "Thanks," he said as he walked past her._

_"Keep tha knife off for a couple of days."_

_Merle nodded but didn't look at her until he was at the door then he turned around and saw her leaning against the table with her shoulders slumped._

_"I cain't remember a time my old man didn't beat tha hell outta my momma. She tried to leave, too, but she had me, then Daryl came along, and she was trapped for a whole lot longer. It killed her in tha end. She had a fuckin' concussion and passed out with a cigarette hanging from her lips. Took down tha whole house._

_"Pops was at a bar and Daryl was out trailin' after tha neighborhood kids. I got there right after him. I ain't never heard someone scream like he did that day." Carol had lifted her head but still faced away from him. "Some people get trapped and cain't do shit about it."_

_"I got away," she whispered. "Went to a shelter in Atlanta with Sophia." When she turned to face him, she looked so sad. "I lasted three days before I ran back to him and took my daughter back to that life. She deserved better than me."_

_Merle shook his head. "Ya both deserved better than tha man ya got. I saw ya with her, remember? She thought the sun rose and set with ya."_

_"Then I lost her." She shook her head._

_"Ya didn't lose her," he argued. "Bad shit happened s'all."_

_"Your brother looked for her more than I did."_

_"Ya didn't know what to look for."_

_Carol looked away. "This is tha only family I got now. I'll protect 'em better this time."_

_"You're a hell of a shot," he agreed._

_That made her smile a little. "Daryl taught me."_

_Merle hummed and chewed on the inside of this cheek before he said, "He was pretty happy to get ya back when they all thought ya were walker food."_

_"He's a good guy."_

_"Y'all ever..." He trailed off and waggled his eyebrows, trying to make it seem like more of a joke than being something serious to him. Hell, he didn't even know why it felt like he needed to know._

_"No," Carol laughed. "He's my friend. Tha first real male friend I've ever had." She sighed. "I'm holdin' ya up. Besides, I got story time with tha kids now."_

_Carol slid beside him and out the door and he followed her until they reached the library then went on toward his cell._

Even know, standing beside her in the middle of the yard, he didn't know what to make of the tension under their interactions.

He had known women, and most of them were very up front about what they wanted. And he was happy to give them that. There had been a few relationships over the years, but none of them stuck. As soon as a woman started nagging him about shit, he was out.

All that old stuff didn't compare to the concern and genuine care he felt for Carol, though.

"So, your brother brought back some rabbits," she said, and he turned away from her, afraid she could see the confusion he felt when they were together.

"He should've by now," Merle muttered. "Takes that girl with him out in tha woods and ya know they ain't trackin' a damn thang."

Carol laughed and bumped her shoulder against his arm. "Be happy for him."

"I'm his brother. It's my job to be an asshole to him about tha woman he's with, and since this is tha first time Darla's been saddled, I gonna give him as much hell as I want."

Carol rolled her eyes. "I think it's just tha Dixon in ya."

Merle grinned and tilted his head. "Ya want some Dixon in ya?"

Her choked laugh came with a shake of her head. "You must've been a ladies man before all this."

He shrugged. "I've got a rugged quality about me."

After another snort, she touched his arm and nodded to the little shaded rest area they had built up. "Help me cook tha rabbits?"

"I guess," he said and followed after her, trying to recall the last time he went so easily with anyone besides Daryl.

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><p>Daryl lay in bed, unable to move out from underneath the covers. Beth was so damn warm wrapped around him that it made it hard for him to want to do anything but stay put.<p>

She hadn't wasted any time moving her little bit of stuff into his cell and using her old one for when she kept Judith during the day.

Her little accident sign looked a whole lot better than the kiddy shit from before and the darker curtain she had hung over their bars kept it more private. He liked it, liked her there with him.

Daryl stretched a little and tried to move her off of him, but she held on tighter.

"Don't go," she whispered. "Let's just stay here in this little room all day."

"Cain't do that, arrow. I'm runnin' lead with Michonne. It's a big job."

"I know." She yawned and slid off his chest. "It sounds real dangerous."

"Ehhh." He slung his legs off the bed and leaned his forearms on his knees. Beth curled around him, planting a few soft kisses on his back. "'Bout like every other day." He picked up her hand off his chest and kissed her palm.

He stood up and pulled on his sleeveless flannel shirt then his jacket and vest. Beth had laid back against their pillow and watched him get ready to leave.

Things had changed a whole hell of a lot since that day in the woods. He knew every single inch of her body like it was the back of his own hand, and she had done plenty of exploring, too. She kissed his back, and her fingers running over the scars there didn't bother him at all anymore.

They had yet to close the deal, so to speak, and that's another reason he was going on the run. He needed condoms and he would be damned if he went and asked Glenn for a few or anyone else.

Beyond that, he was teaching her how to track and hunt, and she was getting a whole lot better than he had ever imagined. They been out in the woods the other day, and she was the one who caught the slight disturbance in the leaves that led them to one of the rabbits they had killed.

She would joke and tell him that she wouldn't need him anymore, and he would stand behind her and nod where she couldn't see. Beth was right. Before too long, she wouldn't need his help at all.

He watched her sit up and scoot off the bed then grab her jeans and pull them up her legs. Daryl shifted a little and watched from behind his hair as she tugged on her boots, taking in every movement.

"Is Merle goin' with ya?" She asked as she tied her hair back.

"Nah. That thang's done messed up his arm again. Carol ain't lettin' him wear it, so he ain't goin' out."

"I don't like it when ya go out without him," she said and sighed.

"Why?" He asked and picked up his bow.

"I dunno. I think y'all work better in a pair, I guess."

He snorted and leaned back against the bars of the cell. "I got Michonne, Glenn, Tyreese and Sasha all there watchin' my back and me watchin' theirs. Even that Woodbury kid's comin'."

"The one that asks ya what ya did before everythin' went to hell?"

Daryl hummed and looked her over as she put on her belt that held her knife. "He's got a big crush on ya," he said without really meaning to.

Beth's head shot up and her eyes were wide. "Really? Oh my gosh, I've been waitin' for this day," she said and started walking toward the cell door and he caught her arm and pulled her to his chest. "You're crazy if ya think that I'd trade ya for someone else," she whispered.

Daryl kissed the top of her head and stayed quiet. He didn't think there would ever be a time that he didn't feel like she was going to disappear from beside him.

"I's thinkin' that I could go check tha snares while you're gone. That way ya ain't go so much to do when ya get back."

He shrugged. "If ya want to or we can go once I get back."

Beth leaned back and rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him. "I'll just do it. I wanna try out my new bow."

"Ya be careful," he said seriously and squeezed her in a tight hug before he let her go.

"You, too."

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><p>The Big Spot was a bust.<p>

They had spent so much fucking time getting all the walkers out of the triage area that had been set up and the store itself, but there had been a ton of those bastards on the fucking roof.

Along with a damn helicopter.

_What the fuck?_

Michonne parked the truck in the prison yard, and Daryl got out as soon as it stopped. He tried ease some of the tension in his shoulders, but he couldn't. All he could think about was that fucking store. He had been walking through, picking up shit and putting it in his pack. He got things on everyone's list, and things just for him and Beth.

They hadn't been in the store ten minutes before the ceiling gave way.

Walkers rained down. The chopper was holding on by a thread.

Zach.

That poor damn kid stuck under a shelf full of wine, getting chewed on by a walker.

Daryl walked toward the cellblock, leaving everyone else to decide who was going to tell who what. Once he was outside their cell, he leaned against the bars and watched as she wrote in her journal.

He had meant to get her some more pens, but he hadn't gotten that far.

Beth looked up at him and her breath caught. She knew just from seeing his face. "Who?" She asked quietly and stood up.

"Zach," he said and cleared his throat. The lump there was getting too much to hold back.

Beth walked over to the stupid accident sign and ran her hands over the letters before moving toward him. "Are ya okay?"

He shrugged and looked down. "Just tired of losin' people s'all."

"Me, too," she whispered and wrapped her arms around his waist.

The comfort he was used to getting felt so foreign to him in that moment. It was like the clusterfuck at the store had pushed him all the way back to who he had been before. After a few seconds, he gripped her elbow in his hand, and when she started to pull away, she looked up at him from under her eyelashes.

"It's okay to be sad, Daryl. He was a nice guy."

He shook his head. "I'm glad I knew him. Even if he looked at ya like some puppy dog."

Beth grinned. "Did he ever guess what ya did?"

Daryl shook his head and thought back to the kid's questions and guesses. How he had thought Daryl was some kind of white knight, a good guy, through and through.

"No," he said gruffly.

There was a part of him that was glad that he would never find out.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

Thank you all so much for reviewing! I'm so sorry I didn't get to answer them!

I hope you like this one, and {{hugs}} to everyone for tonight's episode!

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><p>Beth watched from a distance as Daryl shook the boy's hand. He was probably Carl's age and seemed like a nice enough kid. Beth had seen him around the library for Carol's story time, but he didn't seem like he had a terribly strong stomach for the gore around them. She couldn't blame him. It wasn't something you just rolled with. Everyone had an adjustment period, and some people didn't ever get there. Or sometimes, they saw so much blood and loss that they closed back in and tried to remember what life had been like before killing had become an every day occurrence.<p>

It had been a few days since their run to the Big Spot, and Daryl seemed to be getting better. She was beginning to wonder if he had reached the point where he realized that it wasn't just him he had to worry about anymore. And not in a "I provide food for the group" sort of way, but a "There's a person that loves me and needs me back in one piece" kind of way.

Not that she had told him that yet. It had been nearly three months since they had officially began their relationship, but the flirting and interest had been there for weeks before that. Maggie still wasn't completely on board, but she had told Beth that she didn't need to have any regrets when it came to her relationship because none of them were guaranteed tomorrow.

Beth had taken that advice and held onto it for a couple of days. All the while, she went about her daily routine: caring for Judith, hunting with Daryl, rolling around their tiny bed with him after the sun set.

Beth shook those thoughts away and watched as Carol said something to Daryl that made him cut his eyes at her before walking toward Beth.

"What're ya lookin' at, arrow?" He asked as he took a set beside her, pushing his plate over toward her.

The nickname had come about after a tracking lesson, and she didn't mind it at all. He had been telling her about directions and how to find her bearings in the woods when she didn't have a compass.

"_Ya know, I wanted to get a tattoo of an arrow on my wrist," she said and held out the wrist that was layered in bracelets. _

"_Why?" he asked as he took her arm. Daryl slipped his thumb under the bands to find the scar that puckered her skin. _

"_Ya know, so I could look down at it and remind myself to find my own way," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Guess it's kinda ironic that I've got somethin' there now that reminds me tha same thang."_

_His thumb rubbed over the line of skin, and he shook his head before letting her go and pulling her to stand in front of him. He handed her his bow and put both hands on her shoulders. "Put us goin' back tha right way, arrow."_

_She laughed and proceeded to get lost in the woods for a couple of hours before finally making her way back to the prison with him in tow._

"You and Carol," she said. "Oh, and Patrick. I think he's got a man crush on ya."

Daryl shook his head. "Ya tryin' to start shit."

"No, I'm really not," she said with a grin. Over his shoulder, she saw Merle walk up beside Carol and start talking to her.

He didn't wear his knife because it was still bothering him, but he seemed to be in good spirits, at least around Carol. He smiled a little when he talked to her, and Beth wondered if Daryl noticed or if Merle talked to him about it.

"Ya know that you're brother helps with story time?" She asked and Daryl nodded. "Ya know it ain't really story time, right?" She asked quieter.

"I know," he said with short nod. "Carol's tryin' to save them kids like she couldn't save Sophia."

"Good," Beth said and took a piece of the deer meat off their plate. "Someone needed to realize these kids need guidance. We cain't just ignore it."

"Seriously doubt that those Woodbury parents want to know that Merle and Carol are teachin' them weapons usage durin' readin' time." Daryl said and lowered his head to catch her eyes. "Anybody else know?"

Beth shrugged. "I don't think so. No one else goes that way durin' tha day. I only know 'cause Judith was bein' fussy so we were walkin' tha other day."

"Carol gonna watch her this afternoon?" He asked and took a thick strip of meat off their plate.

"Yeah," she said and nodded. "She's givin' me a free day since Rick and Carl have been out in tha garden so much."

He grunted and tilted his head back toward the fence. "Ya wanna go out?"

"Absolutely." She kissed his cheek quickly and stood up. "I've gotta grab our laundry, but we can leave whenever after that."

"I'll find ya," he said.

Beth tried to see if he would look back up at her, but he didn't. He tried to make himself seem so unaffected around everyone else, but the truth was, Daryl had one of the softest hearts she had ever known.

She hated to think of him as a little boy with the kind of father he had. It was a miracle that he had kept his empathy through that.

As she walked by the grill, she waved to Carol and Merle, smiling to herself a little when she thought of them together. It wasn't official, and she wasn't too sure that either one of them were going to press it into something romantic, but they had seemed to find something in each other, and Beth really loved that.

The world was just awful, but occasionally, there would be little glimpses of good things. What she had with Daryl, Carol and Merle's friendship, Judith's smile, her daddy's understanding, quiet way, Rick and Carl mending things between them, Maggie and Glenn and their love.

Given the fact that, at any moment, the fences could fall and they would be on the run again, life was going pretty well for them. She let the big grin overtake her features as she entered through the prison doors and came face-to-face with her daddy.

"What's got ya lookin' so happy, doodlebug?" For as long as she lived, she would always want him to call her that. She was a complete daddy's girl since the moment she was born, she figured.

"Me and Daryl are gonna go out into tha woods."

He paused for a moment then asked, "What're y'all doin' out there?"

Beth laughed, blushed and shook her head all at once. "He's teachin' me how to track and hunt. Ya've seen how good I am with a bow now."

Daryl had set up a target for her to practice with and most evenings, he would sit out there and coach her up. Sometimes her daddy was there, sometimes it was just them. Daryl hadn't really gotten the hang over being around him since he told him about their relationship. It was all new for them.

"I know," he whispered. "So, Daryl's treatin' ya well?"

"Yeah, daddy." She nodded. "He's a sweet man."

"I never thought I'd hear tha day someone called Daryl sweet," he said then kissed the top of her head.

"He really is."

He took a step away and went to open the door but stopped. "When did ya grow up, Bethy? It seems like I looked away for just a second, and now, you're all grown."

"Well, tha end of tha world tends to push thangs along."

He shook his head. "Nah, ya've always had a good head on your shoulders."

She wanted to argue that and show him her wrist, but she just shrugged instead. At that moment, Daryl walked through the door, almost hitting her dad since he was standing right at it.

"Shit, sorry," he said and helped steady him.

"I'm all right," he said and pressed a hand against the wall. "The strap keeps comin' loose." He pulled up his pants leg and went to mess with the strap, and Beth started to kneel down to look at it, but Daryl beat her to it.

"This is a piece of shit," he muttered and pulled the strap they had attached to it tighter before pulling out his knife and poking another hole in the leather. "We're gonna have to find ya somethin' better than this, Hershel. It ain't gonna cut it if we gotta move fast."

He stood up and her daddy shrugged his shoulders. "Don't really see how we can do much better. It took y'all a while to find this one."

Daryl chewed on his bottom lip for a second. "We just didn't look in tha right places."

"These things are specially made, ya know?" He said and placed a hand on Daryl's shoulder. He looked up at her dad from under his hair and nodded. "We take what we can get." Then he looked to Beth before back to Daryl. "Y'all be careful out there."

"Yes, sir," Daryl said almost on instinct, and Beth grinned as he seemed to turn into a teenage boy before prom.

Once her daddy was gone, Daryl took her hand and pulled her along to the laundry room where they collected all their clothes then back to their cell where he just dropped his stuff on the floor, and Beth folded up what little she had an sat it on the desk.

"Ya ready?" He asked. He was chewing his thumbnail and seemed nervous.

"Yeah. Ya okay?"

"Umhm," he said and pointed at her bow. "Get your shit, and let's head out."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Dixon," she said with a laugh and did as he said.

Daryl was already outside the cell when she turned back around, and she trailed after him. Right as he opened the door to the outside, she took his hand in hers and squeezed. "Hey, Daryl?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Thangs are gonna be just fine," she said, and he turned to face her with a small, unsure grin on his face.

He nodded and led her out, and Beth wondered what had him all twisted up all of sudden.

* * *

><p>"There they go," Carol said and pulled his attention to the gate as she tilted her head toward it. "They spend so much time out there."<p>

"Little brother's comin' back a man from this trip," Merle said with a laugh and a smirk.

Carol scoffed. "Ya don't know that, and besides, it's none of our business."

"Oh, I know," Merle said and went back to cleaning the grill. "He asked me if I'd ever been with a girl like her."

"Like her?" Carol asked incredulously. "What does that even mean? And ya know he told ya that in confidence. He don't want ya goin' around tellin' his business."

Merle rolled his eyes. "I ain't tellin' everyone. I'm tellin' _you_. I wouldn't just say this shit to anyone, you know that," he said and sighed. "And he don't mean shit by 'like her'. He just couldn't get out tha word 'virgin'. He can't get tha words out sometimes."

"Please, tell me that ya actually gave him good, solid advice."

"Yeah, told him to stop bein' such a pussy. If she's really one, it'll hurt a little, but she'll live."

"If she's really one," Carol muttered under her breath before turning to face him fully. "Ya know that whatever ya tell me, I'd never tell a soul. Ya just admitted that. So, really think about this a minute before ya answer. Do ya really think it doesn't matter? Or that it makes Daryl less of a man to really care about tha comfort of tha woman he's bein' intimate with?"

Merle kept scrubbing the grill rack, probably a little harder than necessary as he thought about the answer. He didn't like the pity that crept into her voice when he talked about Daryl and Beth. She thought he brushed it all off with crude humor, but the truth was he didn't get her point-of-view, and he really didn't understand how Daryl had picked up on the little things. Not all of them, but a good many of them.

He swallowed. "I dunno. I don't get it. Who thinks about this shit? It's just fuckin'."

"It's not, though," she argued. "They love each other. It's important and special to both of 'em."

He tossed down the rag and shook his head. "Why? Just 'cause they attach a feelin' to it, doesn't change tha fact that it's still the same as when tha feelin' ain't there."

After a few seconds pause, Carol whispered, "Ya've never been in love."

He looked over at her and it was like a light bulb had flickered on in her eyes.

"Whatever," he said and started to walk away from her. The whole conversation was making him twitchy.

She grabbed his wrist and tugged him to a stop. Had he wanted to, he could have yanked his hand right back and kept walking, but he stopped just like she wanted.

"I'm not pickin' at ya, but Merle, it's different."

"Yeah, 'cause ya got so much experience with lovin' relationships."

Carol pulled her hand back and stepped away from him. She pursed her lips for a second before she said, "I was a different person before I met Ed. I know what love can be, and I thought I could change him." She seemed to shake thoughts away as she said, "I won't make tha same mistake twice."

Then she walked away and left him standing there.

He ignored the voice in the back of his head that told him to follow her—that told him that she was talking about him.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7

Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing!

Pure Bethyl fluff and smut ahead.

* * *

><p>They walked through the woods quietly, and Beth watched as Daryl scanned the ground for tracks. Something still felt off with him, though. She couldn't put her finger on it, so she pushed it away and went to work looking for tracks, too.<p>

In the next hour, they had killed two rabbits which was really a feat considering how there didn't seem to be many left running around their little section of woods anymore.

She started to ask if they were going to head back to the prison when Daryl cleared his throat and pointed to the east with his arrow. "Wanna show ya somethin' I found tha other day."

Beth smiled. "Okay. I'd liked to spend a little more time out here with ya anyway."

Daryl made a humming sound that was his go-to for acknowledging what was said without actually agreeing or disagreeing with it. It was something he did when he had a lot on his mind.

Once she had fallen into step beside him, she wrapped her arm around his and twined their fingers together. "So, how far away is it?"

He shrugged. "Coupla miles."

"Is it a stream or a pond?"

Daryl shook his head.

"A waterfall?"

Again a headshake. "Ain't got nothin' to do with water."

"I'd like to go swimmin'," she said with a wistful sigh. "We had that pond at tha farm. Every summer we'd spend hours out there."

Daryl nodded. "Spent a lotta time in a creek near my old man's huntin' cabin when I's little."

"My mom hated it," she admitted. "She was always afraid we'd get bit by a snake."

"It's a damn high possibility," he said, and she could feel him getting a bit more comfortable, so she tried to keep him talking.

"Have ya ever been bit by a snake?" She asked and looked up at him.

"Nah, but I've been close to plenty of 'em. Helps when ya wear boots. Most of 'em bite at your ankles, so it protects ya."

"At least I got on boots now. I don't imagine runnin' around tha farm in sandals was a good idea."

"Runnin' around in high grass durin' tha summer ain't never a good idea in Georgia. 'Specially if ya wanna avoid snakes."

"Ya know, I've never actually seen a snake," she said and nudged his shoulder.

"Just 'cause ya ain't seen it, didn't mean it wasn't there."

"I know," she said and looked around the woods. "You're really at home out here. Did ya grow up in tha woods?" She knew his daddy had a cabin out in them, but she also knew that his momma had died in house fire in a town, so she wasn't sure where he had spent more time growing up. Daryl had given her snippets of his past, but she still lacked the full picture. She wouldn't push it for it either. In some ways, she just wanted to tell him that none of it mattered. He was here, and the past was way back in the before.

"Ya could say that," he said and tugged her behind a tree. He shushed her, and Beth closed her eyes and strained to hear what he had heard. "Walkers," he whispered.

Beth peaked around the trunk and saw them materialize from the trees. She knew she would never be as good as Daryl when it came to hearing approaching animals or walkers. Based on what she knew, though, they were moving the opposite direction of the prison. They waited until the small group of six passed then they kept on their way to Daryl's surprise.

The rest of the trip was filled with silence. Daryl probably keeping an ear out for more walkers, and Beth pretending like she could pick up the sounds, too. Without a doubt, she was grateful for Daryl and how he had taken her under his wing to teach her how to take care of herself. She could track, very basically, but she could do it. She could shoot dinner with her bow or a walker. She knew how to sharpen and handle a knife. He had even taught her how to throw a solid punch.

He might not have been a very vocal man about his feelings, but she knew they were there. It was in the way he talked to her when no one was around, how he held onto her while they slept in the tiny prison bunk, and the small grin he would flash her way when they were with everyone else, but no one was looking.

She didn't need huge declarations of love or wedding rings. He had given her a bow and made sure she was self-sufficient when no one else thought she needed to learn much of anything. What she felt for him was outright, head over heels love.

"Well, here we go," he muttered.

Beth looked over at him then looked up. There was a small cabin in front of them with a little porch.

"What's this?" She asked as she dropped his hand and walked forward and up the porch steps.

"Just found it when I's huntin'. Thought ya'd like to have a little place all to ourselves."

"Ya wanna move out here?" She asked quietly.

Daryl shook his head. "Nah, it ain't as safe as tha prison. Just talkin' about when ya want us to get away and have some alone time."

He seemed to choke on the word alone, and Beth blushed a little. "This is really sweet, Daryl."

He grunted. "It's small, but pretty nice. Got a little table and a—" he cleared his throat. "S'got a bed."

She watched his chew on his thumbnail and look out over the woods to avoid her eyes.

"This is really amazin'." She opened the door and walked inside. There was a chair and she pulled it outside onto the porch and sat down in it before propping her feet up on the porch railing. "It's so pretty and quiet."

Daryl nodded and sat on the porch steps before taking the two rabbits off his belt. He started to skin them, and Beth asked, "What're ya doin'?"

"Just fixin' a little dinner," he mumbled.

Everything fell into place in an instant.

The way he had been so tense and uncomfortable, the walk, the cabin, the bed.

Beth closed her eyes and felt a little overwhelmed at the emotions swirling around in her heart.

"This is a date," she whispered.

Daryl didn't look up, but he shrugged.

She watched as he worked and right when he finished, she dropped her feet down and walked over to him. Beth brought her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly. After a few seconds, he brought his hand up to her arm.

Right as she was about to pull away, she kissed his cheek then whispered beside his ear, "I love ya."

Daryl stiffened a little, but she kissed his cheek again then stood up and went back to her chair. She knew he didn't know what to say or do after that, and it was fine. It didn't bother her because she knew anyway.

"I've never had anyone make me dinner before," she said with a grin.

That seemed to snap him out of his daze because he went from looking at the ground back up at her. His eyes were squinted a little, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. She usually could, too.

"It ain't nothin'," he argued and stood up.

"Whatever ya say," she said. "I think it's really nice."

He cleared his throat and nodded then went gather up some sticks to create a little fire pit for their meal.

* * *

><p>The silence had never bothered him.<p>

He knew that the quiet was good. Everything was calm and settled. It was easier to hear a threat approaching or another meal heading his way.

The difference with this kind of silence was that he didn't only have his breath to keep him company anymore. He wasn't even looking at her, but he could still hear her over his shoulder. It scared him at how quickly her breathing had become a comforting sound to him.

She was here in this world. Everything was still fine.

When he had thought about this outing, he wanted it to be special, but he didn't want it to be stupid. There were no candles or dim lighting. It was sorta musty and definitely dusty. It wasn't like something out of a damn romance novel. All Daryl wanted was for her to know that she was meant a lot to him, and that he was trying to make an effort.

While he cooked the rabbit, Beth stayed on the porch. She started out humming under her breath but turned to singing before too long. He had always thought she had a pretty voice, but didn't understand her ability to be able to sing with all the terrible shit going on. To him, there wasn't a reason for the happy singing no more.

Still, her voice brought him some comfort in those moments, and maybe that's why it was a good thing for her to do.

The weight of the moments coming up sat heavily on his shoulders as he handed over her food and took his own. This was the dinner portion of the evening, then he would split the chocolate bar he found on a run with her, then he would try and not fuck up the after part.

It was supposed to be nice, and he didn't like the idea of her first go and his first go in years being behind a flimsy curtain in a cellblock that housed a bunch of other people, one of which being her father.

Merle had been zero fucking help, and he wasn't about to ask anyone else.

They had gotten real comfortable with each other over the last few weeks, but that had always been in the dark, and she couldn't really see his face and how he looked at her. He could whisper things in the black of their cell that he couldn't during the day, and it was definitely daylight and would be until they got back to the prison.

"Ya think we should feel guilty for eatin' this and not takin' it back to tha others?"

"No," he said through a mouthful of rabbit.

She laughed and moved to sit beside him on the steps. Once she was at his side, she leaned her head against him and continued eating.

"We're gonna try and hunt some more on tha way back," he said after he swallowed.

"So we don't look like we spent all afternoon shacked up?" Beth asked innocently, but her breath fanned across his neck and made him shiver a little.

"Don't give a shit what they think. Just figured it would be tha right thang to do."

She placed a barely there kiss on his jaw then slowly moved down toward his chin. When she got close enough, she placed her hand on the other side of his face and turned him to face her.

He licked the cracked skin of his bottom lip right before she pressed hers against his.

The feeling of her against him would never get old. Neither would her fingers tangling into his hair and pulling him harder toward her.

Beth always wanted more, and at first, he had been scared to push too hard and let her see everything that was stirring inside of him.

Not anymore, though.

He pulled away and took the few pieces of meat off her lap. "Ya finished?"

"Yeah."

Daryl stood up and grabbed her hand then led her into the cabin. He sat the meat on the table and took the chair off the porch along with their weapons and pack. Once he was back inside, he shut the door and wedged the chair under the doorknob.

"We gotta be quiet." His voice was barely above a whisper as he stared at her across the room.

"We can do that," she said and held out her hand for him.

He walked toward her, his heart pounding in his chest and his breath coming out unsteady.

When their lips met again, all that faded away. It was just him and her and for once, he didn't need to worry about their family hearing them, even in their quietest moments.

His hand slipped from hers to hip then under the bottom of her shirt.

She groaned a little as his fingers slid along the waistband of her jeans, and he started walking her back toward the bed.

Beth toed off her boots and he popped open the button on her jeans as her hands got rid of the belt at her hips.

When he laid her back on the bed, she had on the two baggy tank tops that Maggie had found for her on a run, and the off-white panties he had gotten used to.

He had never thought a lot about what women wore under their clothes before. Usually, the encounters he had were quick and ended up with him leaving before the sun came up, and he hadn't really cared what they were wearing.

Daryl helped her pulled the shirts over her head, and she laid back against the mattress again. Her bra was too big and the straps slipped off her shoulders all the time, but she still looked like something out of one of the magazines Merle had kept around their apartment.

He cleared his throat and went to unfastening his belt.

"Take off your shirt," she said and her hands went to the buttons.

He reached one hand up and stilled her movements. "Not this time," he said and looked out the single window beside the bed. "Just in case."

Beth nodded, but still unbuttoned the first few buttons of this shirt. "Just a little won't hurt," she reasoned and her hands went to his jeans as he leaned over her and kissed her.

She went from his jeans to under his shirt, scrapping her blunt nails against his stomach.

He shifted into her touch with a grunt and Beth laughed softly. "Ya like that?"

She knew he did because he could never stop that noise that passed his lips when she did it. He sucked on her bottom lip and pushed his hand into her panties. When his fingers, slid against her, she gasped and shifted into his hands.

"Ya like that?" He whispered against her lips.

The whimper that escaped her was answer enough, and he dipped his fingertip inside of her before sliding it back up and rubbing against her clit.

He kissed down her jaw and neck, licking across her collarbone then down to her tits. The cups were too big, and he reached behind her back and popped the clasps.

Her back arched under his hand and once she had thrown the bra on the floor, he sucked her nipple into his mouth.

Beth was panting and tilting her hips into his hand as he started to finger her. He reached his free hand down his jeans and squeezed his dick. There wasn't anything he wanted more than to pull her panties down and toss them to the floor the push inside her, but he need to take time to get her off today.

With that thought, he moved his hands and started to tug her panties off. Beth lifted her hips and pressed her head back into the bed as he settled between her thighs and placed them over his shoulders.

So far, this was her favorite thing he could do to her. Daryl kissed up her thigh and sucked on the skin near her hipbone, leaving a little red mark there as he went back to thrusting his finger in and out of her pussy.

When his tongue flicked over her clit, she threaded her fingers into his hair and pulled.

She never spoke when they were like this, just sounds and gasps. That turned him on more than porno dirty talking any damn day. It was just her, and she was enjoying it all so much that she didn't even think to exaggerate shit.

He wanted to tell her all sorts of things, but his tongue was busy. She was, by far, the sexiest woman he had ever known and then she went and started lifting her hips in time with his tongue, holding him right where she wanted him, and he knew there wasn't a woman anywhere who could light him up like she did.

Beth's breath caught and he looked up just in time to see her turn her head to the side and cry out softly the same time her pussy started clenching around his finger.

He gave a final drag of his tongue over her, and she twisted away from him then Daryl kissed up her stomach to where he was hovering over her.

With a hand on either side of her head, he bent his head to kiss her softly.

She opened her eyes and gave him a slow grin. After was always the best time to him. It was like he had erased every bad thing that had ever happened to her and that time had been reset. This time, though, she wouldn't push him on to his back and move to kneel between his legs, and they wouldn't stop.

Daryl brushed some hair off her forehead and whispered, "Keep goin'?"

"Yeah," she said and pulled him down for another kiss.

He twisted his tongue with hers as he dug into the back pocket of his jeans for the single rubber he had taken with him. Then he laid it beside her head.

Beth reached down and pushed his jeans past his hips and took his dick in her hand, stroking him while he leaned his face into her neck.

"Damn, girl," he muttered and thrust into her grip. He grabbed the foil wrapper and ripped it open before he rolled it down over himself.

Beth's hand traced his cheek, and he dropped his body over hers again. Once he was situated between her thighs, he took his hand placed the head of his dick right where he needed to be then slowly pressed forward.

He watched her eyes widen, and he cupped her check in his hand and put his forehead against hers as he pulled out and pushed back in a little more each time. When he had bottomed out, he kissed her then moved his lips further down to lick and suck on her tits again.

It took a few seconds then she groaned a little as he started rocking against her.

"Go a little faster," she said against his ear.

He dropped a hand to her hip and thrust inside a little faster and harder, stealing her breath.

"That okay?" Daryl asked, his voice gruff and tight. He had barely moved any and it was almost over.

"Yes," she whispered. "It's so good now."

He nodded and pulled nearly all the way out then pressed into her hard.

The room filled up with his low grunts and her breathy moans. He put his forearms on either side of her head and brought his mouth down to hers.

Her nails scrapped his shoulders and her legs wrapped around his hips.

Beth took her hand and pushed the hair off his forehead, and she held it back from his face. Her wide blue eyes locking with his and her lips parted, panting.

It hit him all at once and he slammed into her, coming with a loud groan. When his vision cleared, he took a deep breath and look down at her watching him.

"S'good?" He asked. "Ya okay?"

Beth nodded and let go of his hair before she sat up a little and kissed his lips.

"I'm amazin'."

Daryl held himself up on one hand then reached between them, holding the rubber as he pulled out. He took it off and tossed it under the bed.

"I'll pick it up tha next time we come out here," he said then scooted up beside her.

He was so relaxed and sleepy. Then when Beth cuddled against him, he just felt even better. He kept his eyes closed when she kissed his jaw and then took her hand when she hummed against his neck.

"This was perfect," She said, and he could feel her smile against his skin. "I want this everyday."

Daryl smirked. "I must be a good lay."

"I meant tha happiness. We had a good lunch and a good dinner and now this. It was quiet and us and perfect."

"So I ain't good then?" He asked, avoiding talking about what this had meant to him.

"That, too," she finally agreed.

Her voice was quiet though, and he declaration from earlier still floated around in his head.

"I'd give anythin' in tha world for ya to be this happy everyday for tha rest of your life, arrow."

"I like when ya call me that," she said and rose up over him. Her long, blonde hair had come out of her ponytail and her small breasts were in full view. She looked like a siren or something. If she started singing, it would complete the picture.

"You're so damn beautiful. Why're ya with me?" The words were out before he could think to stop them.

Beth tilted her head to the side. "You're tha best man I know." He must have looked as unimpressed as he felt because she added, "You're also the most handsome man I've ever seen."

"I'm filthy and prolly smell like a dead animal," he muttered and Beth laughed before hugging him tightly.

"Ya get used to tha smell," she joked and pulled away. "Seriously, though, I love you. I'm with ya 'cause you're exactly what I want. I'm just glad that ya feel tha same way about me."

The look in her eyes was so sincere that he finally realized his emotions were right on his sleeve even if he thought he kept them under wraps.

As if sensing his realization, she smiled. "Don't worry. No one knows but me."

He didn't know what to say, so he pulled her down for a kiss, hoping it filled the space where the words were meant to go.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8

Sorry for the delay! Things are starting to move fast now!

* * *

><p>Merle had been looking everywhere for Carol.<p>

Yesterday morning had been a damn mess. First all the walkers in D because some kid caught a fucking bug and then the fences falling. He had almost ripped Daryl a new asshole for hopping into the back of that fucking truck and slinging those pigs out.

They had taken all the bodies out and were burning them at the moment. Beth had been put in charge of the kids and quarantined in the warden's office, and the two people who had symptoms had been quarantined.

Still, he couldn't find Carol at all, and even though they had a little spat a couple days before sure didn't mean that he didn't want to check up on her.

Finally, he opened up the door to the generator room and saw her standing over the utility sink with a bottle of water, washing blood from her hands.

"Ya okay?" He said and shut the door behind him.

Carol jumped and met his eyes. Hers were wide and glassy. As he got closer the smell of smoke and burned flesh filled his nose.

"I haven't seen ya out there at all," he said quietly and reached for the knife at her hip.

Her reflexes were delayed, and he managed to unsheathe the knife and see the fresh stain of blood against the blade.

"What tha fuck did ya do?" He asked, staring at her in shock.

"I'm just tryin' to protect tha rest of us," she answered back.

"Oh, sugar," he sighed and shook his head.

"It's for tha best," she argued and her voice was tight.

The next deep breath she took a tear tipped over her eyelid and down her cheek.

Merle shook his head. "What tha fuck are we gonna do?" He asked to no one but himself.

* * *

><p>"How's she doin'?" Hershel asked Daryl through the thick glass separating them.<p>

Daryl didn't like the idea of Hershel being in there alone taking care of the sick people. He didn't like that there was no one to protect him if someone turned. He didn't like that Hershel's damn leg was giving him so much fucking trouble that he wouldn't be able to get away.

"She's fuckin' mad," he said and started chewing on his thumbnail.

"About which part?" He asked, sighing a little.

"She's locked up in an office with a bunch of stir crazy kids that've already been exposed to tha damn illness, and her daddy's now tha doctor over tha bunch that are sick. She's pissed that she cain't go on this run and help Glenn out." Daryl shook his head then said, "She's just really scared Hershel."

He nodded and looked over his shoulder. "I think this is on its way out, to be honest. Everyone in here is pretty close to death anyway."

"Even Glenn?" He asked and tried to keep his face blank.

"Yeah," Hershel said and looked at the bandana clutched in his hands. "If ya don't come back with those meds and other thangs, we'll lose him."

Daryl closed his eyes. "Fuckin' figures, right? We do all this shit, survive for years after everythin' then get taken out by a damn cold."

"It's more than a cold," Hershel argued.

"I know," he said. "We're gonna come in a get some of tha bodies out while Merle fills up tha cars then we're gonna go to that vet school."

Hershel nodded and opened up the door. "Put that over your nose and mouth. Don't ya ever take it off."

"It don't matter none," he said but did as he was told.

Hershel watched for a few minutes as Daryl took some of the bodies and loaded them on a gurney. As he was about to wheel it out and down the back corridor, Hershel cleared his throat and Daryl looked over at him.

"If somethin' happens to me, you'll make sure she's safe, won't ya?" He asked, his eyes never leaving Daryl's.

Daryl sent him a shaky nod.

"I feel better knowin' that," he said quietly then turned away, walking back in to the quarantined cellblock.

Daryl pushed the bodies outside, all the while thinking about the outbreak and the last few days.

They still didn't know who had killed Karen and David, but Daryl didn't figure that one of their own had turned into a bloodthirsty killer. They were the first two that had shown symptoms, and Daryl had the feeling that whoever had done it was trying to stop the spread of the illness.

Didn't change the fact that it was fucked up, especially given how they were left outside, but the intentions behind it weren't that of a serial killer. Tyreese was tore up about it, and he was a little unsure of having him go on the run with them, but they needed the manpower.

Merle was going to stay back and keep a watch on the fence since it was still unstable, so Daryl would have Michonne, Tyreese and Bob with him to go to the college.

With the bodies piled up and ready to burn later, he went inside and washed his arms and hands as best as he could then went down the hallways to the warden's office. Once he was there, he slide down with his back to the door and called out her name.

"Is everythin' okay?" She asked immediately.

"Good as can be, I guess. Glenn's gettin' worse. Gotta make that run for meds in a few minutes, but I wanted to stop by and tell ya bye first."

"We don't say that, remember?" She asked and her voice sounded tense.

"I know, arrow. I know," he said quietly.

At that moment, her fingers poked out from under the door, and Daryl smiled a little before holding onto the tips of them. They hadn't even had time to enjoy their afternoon away before all hell broke loose. He wanted to hold her close to him again and feel that peacefulness that he had gotten used to so fast.

"It's gonna be okay," he said.

"Yeah," she said back, but he knew she didn't believe it.

He let go of her fingers and got on his stomach and dropped a kiss on her fingertips before leaning his forehead against them.

"I'll be back before ya know it."

Daryl stood up and walked away from Beth, leaving all his worries right there with her. If it was one thing he knew for certain, it was that he couldn't go into this run with his mind clouded over. A medical college, even a vet one, wasn't going to be empty of walkers. In fact, most of those places had been used as shelters during the early days.

There was no way of knowing what they were walking into.

* * *

><p>The sun was setting, and Beth shifted Judith around on her lap.<p>

She hadn't heard back from Daryl, but that didn't mean anything had gone wrong. They had to go a ways to the college then who knew how long it would take to find what they were looking for. It didn't mean anything at all that he wasn't back yet.

A short knock on the door drug her out of her thoughts. "Yes?" She asked and walked closer.

"Hey, Bethy," Maggie said quietly.

Beth sat down with her back to the door and held onto Judith. "How's Glenn?" She asked, praying the answer was a good one.

"He's still hangin' on."

"That's good," Beth said and tried to keep the tears at bay. "And daddy?"

"Stubborn," she laughed. "He said that y'all could come out again."

"What?" Beth asked and turned her head towards the door.

"If we were gonna get sick, we would've already. The kids were already around tha people in D. Daddy said to get everyone settled in cells and try and get tha kids back to a normal routine. Keepin' y'all locked up ain't helpin' them."

Beth looked across the office at the kids sitting around in a little circle drawing on some paper she had found. She stood up and placed Judith on her hip.

"Okay. Can ya send Carol to help me get 'em situated? I need to know if I should put Mika and Lizzy in her cell now."

"She's gone with Rick," Maggie said and turned the doorknob. "He wanted to see if there was anythin' nearby for tha sick."

"Oh," Beth said and moved back as Maggie opened the door. "I'll just put 'em there anyway. She won't mind."

* * *

><p>It didn't take long to get everyone in their new cells and dinner started for the children. Maggie had gone back into the quarantine area to be with Glenn, and some of the remaining Woodbury adults sat around the dining area and outside.<p>

As she was feeding Judith, Merle came in and looked over the group. He spotted Beth and went to where she was sitting.

"Ya seen Carol?" He asked when he reached her.

Beth shook her head. "Maggie said she went with Rick a while ago. Where've ya been?"

"Rick wanted me to burn tha bodies out back and then check Daryl's snares for game. I just got back."

"Oh, well, I'm sure they'll be back soon. It's almost dark."

As if on cue, the door opened and Daryl walked through, looking madder than she had ever seen him but he didn't stop and talk to her, instead he went straight to the hallway that led to where the sick were.

"I'm gonna go holler at him," Merle said then left without a second look.

It was a few minutes later that Rick walked through the door. He looked tired but caught Beth's eye and nodded his head toward his cell.

Once she was inside, he took Judith and sighed heavily. "Can ya get Daryl and Merle to meet me over in D?"

"Sure," she said and looked over him before asking, "Is she dead?" Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she didn't know if she could take losing any more people at that moment, especially Carol.

"No," he said and looked down at his boots. "Get 'em for me?"

She nodded and took off down the hallway. When she reached the quarantine area, she gasped and ran. Once she was through the broken visitation window, she palmed her knife and walked cautiously forward.

Everything had already been taken care of though. The walkers were put down, the sick were in their cells and Glenn was intubated.

Daryl leaned against one wall and Merle against the other, watching as Maggie pumped the small bag that was breathing for Glenn.

"What happened?"

"It's rainin' shit on us," Merle answered but didn't look her way.

She turned to Daryl, but he was rubbing his face with his hands.

"Rick wants to see y'all," she said and walked toward Daryl. "He's in D block."

"He say what he wants?" Merle asked.

"No." She reached out and touched Daryl's hand, and he down at her. "Ya okay?"

His eyes were tired, and he looked so defeated. "Just worn out."

He squeezed her hand and looked up at Merle. "Let's go."

"I should get Judith from him before y'all go," she said and started to walk with them, but Daryl shook his head. "Carl can look after her. Stay with your daddy."

She wondered just how close things had come when he had shown up in the sick bay, but she wasn't about to ask. Her dad was okay. Glenn had a better chance than before, and Maggie was still alive.

"Okay," she whispered. "I'll be here."

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but in the end, he dropped her hand and followed Merle.

* * *

><p>Merle's head was running wild, and he charged Rick. Daryl stepped up between them and pushed him back.<p>

"Just wait. Calm down," his brother tried to reason with him.

Rick went on about how Carol could survive on her own and that she would be fine, but all Merle could see were the tears that had fallen down her cheeks in that generator room. He knew she wasn't prepared to be on her own, especially not right now.

"That's her, but that ain't her," Daryl said. "She ain't a killer. She was tryin' to protect us."

Rick shook his head. "She cain't make decisions like that. That puts us all at risk."

Merle brushed his brothers hands off his chest and squared his shoulders. "Ya don't know shit about her. Tomorrow, I'm gonna get her and bring her back."

"If ya go lookin' for her, ya stay gone," Rick said. "Cain't have her here. I gotta tell Tyreese. It was either she comes back, and he kills her himself, or I let her get away. This wasn't done to hurt Carol. I'm tryin' to keep her safe."

"I'd like to see that mothafucker try and hurt her," Merle said to Rick. He tried to calm down his racing heart and get his hands to stop shaking, but it was no use.

Rick just shook his head. "Let's just give it tha night. Then we'll talk to Tyreese, okay?"

Merle pushed past Rick and ran down the stairs and out into the yard. He wanted to scream or hit something, but in the end all he could do was close his eyes and let the pain fill his chest.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

As always, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing!

* * *

><p>Over the next two days, Glenn's condition improved dramatically. They got the meds into his system, and he was breathing on his own. He was weak, but he was going to be okay. Sasha was the same, weak but alive.<p>

Beth watched her sister as she sat with Glenn in his cell and smiled at them. She had to believe that things were going to start looking up.

Her thoughts drifted to a couple of nights earlier when Daryl had came to their cell and told her that Rick had sent Carol packing and the reasoning behind it. She sat there in shock for several minutes before she said, "What's happenin' around here?"

"Don't have a fuckin' clue."

She pulled him toward the bed and her fingers lightly scratched at the scruff along his jaw. "Are we good, Daryl?"

He kissed her softly then pulled her to him with a little more force. "Ummhmm."

She still had the feeling like she was trying to hold onto water, though.

With a final glance at Maggie and Glenn, she turned and left them in their cell. It was early, and she needed to do chores before she took over care of Judith. Now that she didn't have Carol to help her, it all fell on her shoulders.

It didn't worry her too much, but the idea of being the primary babysitter seemed like an awful lot in the prison. There were only so many ways to keep a baby busy, and Judith was starting to want to crawl. Beth would need to be on her toes in the coming months when it came to her.

First on her list, though, was their cell. It was a mess since they had both been so busy with more important things. Once there, she started folding up the laundry from days before and double-checking the packs that they kept ready. She had finally unpacked all of her things right before she had moved into Daryl's cell then he told her to repack it.

"_What if we gotta run?"_

She stuffed a newly washed baby blanket into the front zipper since she had been thinking so much about Judith. If they ran, she would need stuff, too.

Suddenly, a shadow covered her, and she turned her head to peek over her shoulder. Daryl pulled the curtain closed as she stood up.

"What's goin' on?" She asked.

He didn't answer, just walked forward. He collided with her and pushed his hands into her ponytail and pressing a hard kiss on her lips. Before she knew it, he had her sitting on the desk, one hand under her shirt, the other pulling at her jeans.

His lips had moved from hers to her neck and he bit down softly before he said. "Take 'em off."

She pushed his hand out of the way and flicked open the button and started to stand. Daryl helped her and pulled them off one leg and turned her around, pressing a hand to the middle of her back and pushing her chest against the writing desk.

Beth looked over her shoulder at him and saw him suck on two of his fingers before he pressed them against her and then inside. She groaned and he stilled. "Cain't be loud," he whispered. "It's gotta be quick and quiet. That okay?"

"Yes," she pressed back against his hand.

Daryl pulled away, and she heard him unbuckle his belt and his jeans brushed the backs of her thighs as they fell. The crinkle of a wrapper then his sigh as he pressed himself against her again.

His body was a cage around hers, his arms over hers, linking their hands when he pushed inside for the second time ever.

It was better starting out than the last time, but what was probably the best thing in the world was how close he was to her face and her ear. His short, choppy breathes brushed past her cheek and with each down thrust, he would squeeze her hands like he was trying to hold on a little longer.

Daryl turned his face fully into her neck and licked below her ear before he bit down and stilled inside her.

Her body tingled and every nerve ending was keyed up and ready to go, but he slid from her, kissing down her back as he went and started to pull his pants back up.

Beth remained in place for a few seconds before her mind caught up with what had happened and how quickly he had come into their cell and things had escalated. She didn't mind at all, and she definitely wanted more. A small part of her wondered what had caused him to act so out of character, but the bigger part guided her actions. She turned and hopped up on the desk then took his hand and guided it right back to where he had been.

"Sorry," he murmured against her lips. His voice just a touch embarrassed.

"Don't be." It was all she got out before he dropped to his knees, and she lost all thought completely.

* * *

><p>He kissed her cheek before he left and lingered, letting a little of her warmth seep into him.<p>

Growing up, he had never known what a relationship should really be. His old man and momma weren't the best examples and then the crowd he hung around hadn't been the best influence either.

As he told Tyreese that Rick wanted to see him earilier, he had felt his grief, though. Especially the moment he looked into Daryl's eyes and asked, "What would you do if it had been Beth?"

That was the first time he ever allowed himself to think of Beth gone. The idea that if he went back to their cell that her things would be there, but she wouldn't. That she wouldn't breathe, that her heart wouldn't beat, that she wouldn't cut her eyes at him and smirk when she was trying to be sneaky. That she wouldn't hum or sing or laugh.

His heart had seized up, and as soon as he could get away, he practically ran toward her.

It wasn't the best way to do things, the most romantic, but the feel of her against him calmed him down again.

"I love ya," she whispered.

Instead of ignoring what she said, he nodded against her shoulder and kissed her neck for a final time before he scooted out and down the stairs.

He was only supposed to have been gone a few minutes before he met Rick and Tyreese at the door to that led to the tombs.

They stood there waiting on him, and he wondered what they saw because both of them stopped short for second, one with a bittersweet expression and the other nothing short of amazement.

He wiped a hand along his jaw before he gripped his bow strap.

"What?" He asked.

Rick shook his head. "Where'd ya go?"

He shrugged. "Just had to grab somethin' from my cell."

"Uh huh," Rick said, and Daryl looked up from under his hair to see the smirk that lifted a corner of his mouth. "Let's go."

He followed Rick and Tyreese for a little while before Rick had started talking about Karen a little, testing the waters. They had almost made it to the end of the area they had secured when Tyreese sucked in a sharp breath.

There against the wall was a rabbit, gutted and nailed opened against a piece of wood.

"What tha fuck?" Daryl muttered right as an explosion rocked the prison above.

His feet were beating concrete before Rick and Tyreese had even started moving.

* * *

><p>Merle stood at the fence next to his brother and Carl, aiming a gun that he knew wouldn't put a dent in the Governor's firepower. For the first time since coming back after not finding any sign of Carol the day before, he was glad of where he was. This was the place he was needed at the moment, and maybe, it was the place he was always supposed to be, standing next to his brother. That didn't mean that he was going to stop looking for her, though.<p>

He heard Beth gasp, "Daddy," and turned toward her as she dropped her gun a little.

Daryl hadn't moved at all. His eyes were on Hershel then on Rick then on the Governor.

"I can take him out from here," Carl said quietly and steadied his gun.

"Or ya could start somethin' else. Let your old man handle this," Daryl said, his eyes never leaving the scene down below.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion but in fast forward, too. The katana slicing Hershel's neck, the panicked screams of his daughters, everyone firing at once. He lost sight of his brother when he dodged the gunfire. Then he lost Beth after he stood back up and fired several rounds at the group that was approaching.

Once they made it through the gate, he went hand-to-hand with a couple before the walkers started swarming. They poured out of the woods and up the drive with a lot more speed than he had witnessed in a while.

An explosion knocked him to his knees and made him jerk his head to the left. Merle watched as Daryl shot a bolt straight through the tank driver's chest then turned and hollered, "Beth!" He was frantically looking all over the yard. "Beth!"

Merle got up and stumbled toward him. Daryl held up his bow and aimed then quickly dropped it. "Ya seen Beth?"

"No," he said. "Lost sight of her a while ago."

Daryl's eyes darted all over the yard, and a flash of blonde hair caught their eyes at the same time, but Daryl took off running before him.

"I's lookin' for tha kids," she said, her voice bordering on hysterical. "I couldn't find 'em."

"Prolly on tha bus," he said and grabbed her arm. "We gotta go, Beth. We gotta go."

Merle followed behind them, watching for stray walkers as the got outside the gate then out into the woods.

Once they were in Daryl's territory, he let go of her wrist and yelled back over his shoulder. "Follow me. Merle ya make damn sure nothin' gets to her from behind."

"I got it," he said and looked back for a second.

The fences were down, the prison burned, and their people were scattered.

There was no meeting place, no back-up safe haven.

Merle turned and ran behind Beth and his brother.

It was just them now.

* * *

><p>Hours later, she lay in the tall grass, watching as buzzards flew overhead. She tried to catch her breath, but couldn't. They had ran until she was sure she couldn't move her legs anymore, but if the familiar growls sounded around them again, they would get up and take off.<p>

Her thoughts flashed to her father, and she squeezed her eyes shut. There was no way she was ready to think about that yet—or ever.

Eventually, Merle sat up and rested his forearms on his knees. "Fuckin' hell," he muttered.

Daryl heaved himself up and looked at his brother. "What do we do?"

"Find a place to sleep tonight. Not a damn one of us will be worth a shit to keep watch."

Daryl nodded and stood up, stretching his arms over his head. "Ran north," he said and looked down at Merle, never meeting Beth's eyes. "That bus was supposed to head east."

"Tomorrow or tha next day, we go east," Merle answered like it was no big deal, both of them seeming to forget that she was laying in between them.

"'Bout two hours from Lakeshore," Merle nodded his head behind them. "Wanna see if tha shack's still up?"

Daryl nodded and adjusted the strap across his body. "It'll be as good as anythin' right now." Then he started walking.

Beth rolled onto her stomach and pushed up, following them through the overgrown pasture. She wanted to ask what the deal was, and why he was being so distant, but at the same time, she needed the silence.

Maybe that's what they all needed at the moment, a time to reflect on the fact that everything wasn't fine and probably wouldn't be again. That she was with Merle and Daryl Dixon, and as long as she was with those two, she was safe, and a lot of the people from the prison weren't in her good position.

The children she couldn't find were with people less capable of survival or even worse, all alone. Judith was out there somewhere, and she hoped it was on the bus with the others or at least with Carl.

Her sister wouldn't know where to look for her, but hopefully, she had Glenn and would be able to care for him. Beth didn't want to think about how hard it would have been for him, not even well, to get out of the prison with all those walkers wandering up.

Beth shook her thoughts away and looked at the two men in front of her. The similar set of their shoulders, the way they walked in-step. If she closed her eyes, she could picture their blue eyes and grins that sorta matched up on good days.

They might have been the only family to make it out of the prison alive.

At that moment, Merle slung his arm over Daryl's shoulder and said something to which Daryl pushed him away and glared.

Merle nodded and turned his head forward again. "He's a goner now, though."

"How'd ya know?" Daryl asked, pushing some sweaty hair from his face.

"He wasn't plannin' on leavin' that field alive after he did what he did."

That was the moment he chose to look back at her, and she really saw his eyes since they had started running through the woods.

Guilt was weighing him down.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch. 10

I'm really nervous about this one, so I hope you like it.

* * *

><p>Sweat dripped down Daryl's forehead, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand and as they moved through the woods.<p>

He was in the front and Merle brought up the rear while a silent Beth trudged along in the middle.

The shack in Lakeshore had been a bust and had been burnt down a long time ago, so they moved east. Daryl voted to avoid towns and Merle agreed, but Beth wanted to leave messages for their family, so they detoured out of the woods. When they made it to the outskirts of Senoia and saw that the sides of buildings were full of messages already, she turned and walked the other direction.

He wanted to hug her and tell her it was going to be okay, but he couldn't even allow himself the comfort that would bring.

Daryl had failed her and everyone else at the prison. He didn't deserve shit.

"Let's set up camp for tha night," he said and dropped his pack in the middle of a cluster of trees.

Merle started stringing the warning system, Beth went to work on the fire, and he looked for something to eat besides the out-of-date can of beans they had found yesterday.

Every time he got away from them like this, he started to feel like he couldn't breathe, so the trips were always quick. When he was right beside them, he couldn't stop thinking about the prison, though. He didn't talk unless absolutely necessary and resorted to grunts when asked a questioned most of the time.

Merle was used to it because when he was dealing with something he didn't want to feel, he acted the same way. Beth didn't know what to do with him, though. She had tried to talk to him, lay beside him, comfort him, but Daryl pushed her away at every turn.

A few days after they left Lakeshore, she had asked him, "What did I do?" Her brow was pulled together and her eyes were full of confusion.

Aggravation rolled off him, and he snapped, "Ya don't do a fuckin' thang, girl."

She had stared at him, wide-eyed, for a moment before looking away. Since then, nearly a week had passed, and she hadn't said more than a handful of words.

Daryl circled their camp for nearly half an hour before it got too dark to see and he went back empty-handed.

Merle was laying on his back with a hand thrown over his eyes, and Beth sat near the fire, staring into the flames. He took a seat opposite of her, and she nodded to the can of beans. "Your portion's warm."

"You eat it," he said gruffly.

"Ya need it just as much as the rest of us."

Daryl shook his head. "You're skin and bones, girl. I'll go huntin' tomorrow and find somethin'. Ya need this."

Her eyes flickered to the can and her tongue peeked out and slid along her bottom lip.

It was hard to believe that a couple of weeks ago, he had been inside her, kissing and licking the skin along her body, and now, they were practically strangers.

It was his fault, and he knew it. He just didn't know how to fix it.

Daryl took first watch, and Beth and Merle fell asleep quickly. All of them were so worn down and needed a solid night's sleep. Tomorrow, he would hunt, and they would find shelter for a few days instead of running in circles, looking for people that were probably dead anyway.

He was dozing and knew that he should be waking up Merle for watch when he heard the first growls in the distance.

They were moving quick, too.

Daryl jumped and up and shook them both awake.

"Herd," he said and pointed to the south. "Move now."

Merle threw on the pack, Beth grabbed the small blanket she laid on, and Daryl held his bow at his side as they ran off into the darkness.

As they ran, it became more and more clear that the herd was a lot bigger than he had anticipated. They closed in on the sides, and Daryl started to get scared that this was it, until they crashed through the trees and onto a road.

An abandoned car sat right in front of them. Beth ran to the driver's side to try and crank it, but it was missing its damn door, so he had his doubts it would start. Merle opened the trunk and said, "Y'all get tha fuck in here. I'll get up in that tree."

With that said, Beth climbed inside with Daryl behind her while Merle crossed the road into the woods again.

With shaky hands, Daryl tied the trunk shut with his rag. He watched Beth as she trembled, holding her knife at the ready.

His crossbow was aimed at the little sliver of an opening, and seconds after they were situated, the herd started to rumble past their car.

The groans were as loud as the thunder that started unexpectedly. He worried for his brother being stuck up in a tree during a storm, but he worried even more for him and Beth being ground level in a flimsy trunk as hundreds of walkers passed by.

He looked at Beth and saw her wide eyes and raised his hand, motioning for her to calm down.

Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and against his better judgment, he said, "Breathe, arrow. Close your eyes and breathe."

The nickname seemed to make her well up with tears, but she did as he said and after several minutes, she was breathing a little easier.

She didn't open her eyes for the rest of the night, and a little while after her breathing had evened out, she placed a hand on his shin and kept it there.

* * *

><p>Daylight came and Merle was freezing his balls off in a tree high above the woods.<p>

His arm was sore where he had used his knife to help him climb, but otherwise, he was okay. He whistled low and almost immediately, the trunk popped open and his brother and Beth crawled out.

Without a word to each other, they started walking around the car, collecting little bits of stuff they could use, and then Daryl started to walk down the road, Beth followed, and once Merle was on solid ground again, he fell in line.

The sun dried his clothes quick, and after a couple of hours, his arm stopped aching.

Beth and Daryl remained silent.

Whatever was going on in his brother's head was fucking up the dynamic that was for sure. Merle had a feeling that it was all going to come to a head and explode before too long. Beth had a temper on her, and Merle was really surprised she hadn't popped off yet.

Around midday, they stopped in the woods so Daryl could hunt and they could rest a little. Merle had fallen asleep and woke up to Beth's raised voice, "Ya brought me back?"

She turned and started to walk away, but Daryl grabbed her arm and yanked her back. "Ya had your fun, girl. I ain't got time for your shit."

Her nostrils flared and she pulled her arm away from him. "I'm not stayin' in this suck ass camp, Daryl!" Then she flipped him off and took off into the woods.

Merle stood up and stretched before he asked, "What's got her panties in a twist?"

Daryl glared at him. "Said she wants a damn drink. Went off through tha woods lookin' for a fuckin' bar, I guess. I don't know. She's lost her mind."

Merle popped his neck and picked up their pack. "Now, that's an idea I can get behind, baby brother." He stepped over the warning lines and went in the direction Beth did. After a few minutes, he heard Daryl approaching and smirked.

Maybe a little liquor was what he needed to pull that stick out of his ass and realize they were all hurting just as much as him.

Hell, he didn't even have a point of reference anymore when it came to finding Carol. If she was close and saw the smoke, she would have gone to the prison to check things out. Once she saw that destruction, she probably would have lost all hope at finding anyone again. He just needed to bide his time and come up with a plan then he would get them to help him look for her.

They walked in silence for a long while before him and Beth broke through a tree line onto a fairway with walkers in the distance.

"Golfers like to booze it up, right?"

"Do I look like I played fuckin' golf, sugar?"

Beth eyed him for a second then started walking toward the clubhouse. Daryl picked up the pace to get beside her as she made it to the front door.

"Let me," he said and forced his way in front of her.

The door was locked and walkers were getting closer from the fairway. They moved around to the side door, and it was open. They slipped in with Daryl sliding a golf club through the door handles right as the walkers hit it.

Snarls that sounded a whole hell of a lot closer came from behind him and he turned, ready to fight.

Once he saw where the walkers were, he sighed and looked around the room. It used to be the main room of a camp, but something happened all at once it seemed. Four walkers hung from the ceiling; others were dead on the floor.

Probably got snuck up on by some looters early on judging by how they looked.

They moved silently through the clubhouse until they got to the kitchen. He was looking in cabinets along with Daryl when they heard walker snarls and Beth fighting. They both rushed toward the sound, and he saw the worry in his brother's eyes, but when it became obvious that she was fine, he cooled his look.

"Thanks for tha help," she said through her heavy breathing.

"Ya said ya could take care of yaself. Ya did." Then he turned and walked back the way he came.

Beth looked at Merle then toward Daryl's back then to him again. Tears welled in her eyes, but she held them back and moved forward again.

Inside the pro shop, Daryl and Merle sat next to the cash register after they had picked everything clean and Beth had changed clothes.

He watched as she struggled with the woman who had been sliced in half and put on a mannequin. It was pretty obvious now that these dead ones had been dealt some shit before they were finally put out of their misery.

"Help me," she said in a pleading voice.

Daryl sighed and chewed on a cinnamon stick. "Don't matter. She's dead."

Beth locked eyes with him. "It does matter."

For some reason that caused him to move and grab a sheet to place over the woman.

They left the room, and Merle followed. He wondered what was going to happen because he had the feeling they weren't even paying him any mind anymore.

Beth wanted Daryl to snap out of it, and Daryl wanted her to make him.

Or at least that's how it seemed to him.

A few minutes, and a few walkers later, they finally made it to the bar.

He sat down at a table, watching as Daryl walked around Beth muttering shit and Beth clutched the only fucking drink the place like it was a lifeline.

His brother threw a few darts with all his might and then it happened.

The dam broke, and she finally started crying.

Merle was just about to get up and hug her, something that was completely uncharacteristic of him, when Daryl tossed the last dart and went to her. He grabbed the bottle and threw it down, shattering it against the floor.

"Ain't gonna have your first drink be no damn peach schnapps."

Merle couldn't help but smirk a little as Beth dried her tears, and Daryl pushed open the door.

"C'mon."

* * *

><p>Daryl handed over the crate of moonshine and saw Beth's smile when he told her what it was. Inside the house, he watched his brother land heavily in the camo print recliner, and Beth sit at the small table.<p>

Merle wasted no time grabbing a jar and twisting the top open. He took a long pull and coughed a little.

"Good shit, baby brother."

"Is it?" Beth asked quietly as Daryl poured her a glass. "My daddy always said that bad shine could make ya go blind."

Daryl tried to stop it but the image of Hershel on his knees flashed through his mind, and he fought the urge to flinch.

"Ain't nothin' worth seein' out there anyway."

Beth stared for a moment then nodded before taking her first sip. She gagged and Merle laughed. On her next sip, she surprised him and turned the glass up and drained it.

"Second round's better." She cut her eyes at him and smirked.

Beth poured a little more, and he said, "Slow down. It's strong shit."

"This is for _you_."

"Nah," he said and shook his hand out as she handed up the glass.

"Why not?" She asked, her voice suddenly full of fire.

"Someone's gotta keep watch. You and him gettin' drunk ain't exactly how I wanna spend my time today."

"Yeah, well, all I wanted to do was lay down and cry, but I don't get to do that."

"Oh, yeah, you're tha only one with problems," he muttered and took the glass, draining it before picking up a mason jar and unscrewing the lid. If everyone else was going to get wasted, so was he, then he went to the window.

"Just what tha hell's that supposed to mean?" She slammed her glass down against the table.

"What tha hell do ya think it means? I'm stuck out here, too." Daryl grabbed a piece of siding and started to nail it over the window. When the top part was secure, he stopped for a second and took two huge pulls from the shine jar.

They settled into an uncomfortable silence for several minutes. The alcohol worked its way into his system. Soon, he stopped even pretending to secure the shack and just took gulps of moonshine from the jar as he leaned against the wall.

"So, that's it, huh?" She whispered quietly then she stood up and her voice got louder. "I was good enough for ya at tha prison, but now I'm some burden? I'll have ya know that I've got more self-respect than to follow after a man that don't want me," she hollered and grabbed the mason jar, drinking straight from it instead of pouring a civilized drink.

Merle watched the interaction but didn't step in. He did look tense as hell, though.

"I didn't never say that. You're puttin' words in my mouth, woman," Daryl said and shook his head.

"Ya don't look at me anymore. Ya don't touch me; ya don't kiss me."

"I'm sorry if I don't feel like fuckin' ya against a tree with my brother a few feet away keepin' watch. That don't get my dick hard," he said in a harsh voice.

Beth slammed down the mason jar against the table and the shine sloshed out onto her hand. "You're so fuckin' crude, Daryl Dixon."

"Watch your damn mouth," he muttered and turned away to finish nailing the panel to the wall.

"No, I don't think I will." The jar she had been holding slammed against the wall next to him and shattered, causing him to jump and anger to flood his system.

"Holy shit!" Merle said and drew both of their attention. "Y'all need to calm down."

"Don't ya tell me to calm down, Merle Dixon. This don't concern you!" She said and looked at Daryl again. "Ya've been avoidin' me since tha prison fell. Ya think I distracted ya? Are ya blamin' this on us, and I'm just gettin' tha raw end of tha deal?"

Daryl punched his fist into the wall beside the window, trying to get rid of some of the fury inside himself then turned on her. "What tha fuck do ya want from me, girl? Our whole fuckin' family's dead, and ya got me draggin' ya all over Georgia lookin' for hooch like some dumb college bitch!"

"Ya don't have to be my chaperone, Mister Dixon," she said as hatefully as he had ever heard her speak. "I ain't nobody's burden. I just wish ya'd've gone and thought this through a little more before ya decided to screw me and then break my fuckin' heart."

Merle sat up in his chair and put the jar of shine down. He was watching so closely, ready to jump in at any minute, but Daryl knew it wasn't to pull Beth off of him. Merle looked like he was scared that Daryl would backhand her.

Beth picked up the jar of shine. "Let's play a game before I head out on my own. I'll say somethin' I've never done before, and if ya've done it, ya take a drink. If ya haven't, I take a drink. I'll go first." She paused. "I ain't never fucked and ducked on someone before."

Daryl wasn't going to play. He just stared straight at her.

"Oh, ya gonna ignore me?" She took a drink and tapped a finger to her chin. "A different game them. Let's figure out what Daryl Dixon did before all this shit."

Merle actually stood up then, and Daryl realized that he was clenching his fists so hard he was drawing blood from his palm.

"Motorcycle mechanic?"

"No," he gritted out.

"Prison guard?"

"No."

Beth tilted her head. "Were ya ever in prison?"

He closed his eyes and took a calming breath, but all he felt was fucking rage over everything. "That what you think of me?"

Beth threw up her hands. "What am I supposed to think of ya? Ya never tell me anythin'. I told ya everythin' about tha farm and growin' up. About my plans to go singin' in Atlanta. Ya never told me nothin'. Ya sure as hell didn't mind gettin' in my pants, though."

"Maybe that's 'cause I don't wanna fuckin' talk about it, and ya threw yaself at me. A man would have to be fuckin' stupid not to take what ya offered up." He instantly regretted the words, but as he said it, the anger was seeping from his bones, so kept going. "Let's play that game again, princess. I think you're gonna be doin' a lotta drinkin'."

He picked up his nearly empty mason jar and said, "I ain't never had a pet pony. I ain't never had frozen yogurt. Never depended on anybody for anythin' before." With each barb he through, her armor cracked more and more, until she wasn't that self-righteous, demanding answers angel but a slumping in on herself woman. He smirked and shook his head, and Merle spoke, "That's good enough, Daryl."

He ignored him and went in for the kill. "Sure as hell never cut my wrist lookin' for attention."

Beth's eyes widened and so did Merle's. It didn't occur to him until that moment that Merle had never known that about Beth.

She finally broke eye contact with him right as a walker growled from below the window. Daryl smirked, feeling the effects from the moonshine and grabbed his bow then Beth's arm. "Ya ain't had practice in a few days. Whatdaya say, Greene? For old times sake? I might even let ya blow me after."

She struggled to get away, and Merle walked across the room to take his hand off her, but Daryl pushed him back against the wall. "This ain't none of your fuckin' business. This is between me and my woman."

Then he pulled Beth outside and started calling for the walker. Four arrows released from his bow, Beth pulled tight to his chest as her fingernails dug into his arm. Finally he let her go, and she ran forward, killing the walker with her knife.

"What tha fuck did ya do that for? We was havin' fun, weren't we?"

"We don't kill 'em for fun! What if someone had done that to my dad?" She screamed and started crying.

"That ain't even remotely tha same." He pointed his finger at her.

Beth backed away and crossed her arms over her chest. "I get it. You're scared."

He took two steps toward and got right in her face. "I ain't afraid of nothin'."

"Oh, yeah, ya are. God forbid ya ever get too close!"

"That what you think?" He asked harshly.

Beth laughed humorlessly and nodded. "That's what I know. I'm not Carol or Maggie or Michonne, but I made it, and ya don't get to treat me like crap 'cause you're afraid. We all lost somethin', Daryl!"

"Girl, if I hadn't given up lookin'. If I had pushed harder and stayed out there, none of this woulda happened. I'd've found him, and we wouldn't have lost tha prison. Rick." The tears spilled over his eyes. "Your dad." Daryl turned away from her. "This is all on me. If I'd've tried harder, maybe it woulda been different."

He turned from her and started crying full force. Without warning, Beth collided with his back, wrapping her arms around him as he finally mourned.

* * *

><p>Merle watched from the window as Daryl talked to Beth. Both of them were still a little drunk, but finally sharing things again.<p>

"Ya wanna know what I was before all this?" He asked Beth. "I's nobody. Nothin'. Just some redneck asshole with an even bigger asshole for a brother." Merle snorted. That was a true statement if he had ever heard one. Daryl had gotten their momma's heart while he had gotten his old man's selfishness.

Beth scooted forward and took his hand. "You're a good man. I fell in love with a good man, Daryl, and just 'cause tha Governor came back doesn't mean it was your fault. It's not on you."

"Maybe you'll have to keep on remindin' me sometimes," he said quietly.

"Ya gotta put tha past away, Daryl, or it'll kill ya." Beth sent him a sad smile, "You're gonna be tha last man standin'." Daryl scoffed and she continued, "Ya are. And you're gonna miss—"

"Stop," he said sharply and Beth met his eyes again. "Don't ever say anythin' like that to me. I know I've been a dick lately, and I'll work on it. Try and make it like it was. Just don't ever say what ya were about to say. I couldn't make it."

He cleared his throat, and Merle knew he should have given them privacy, but he needed something good just as much as they did.

"Back at tha prison, it wasn't just screwin' around, ya know that, right? Ya mean tha world to me."

Beth sat up on her knees and moved over to him before turning around and sitting in between his legs.

"We should get inside, arrow," he said against her shoulder. "I'd like a good night's sleep next to ya."

"I's gonna say we should burn it down, but that sounds a lot better. At least for tonight anyway."

Merle walked back to the recliner and leaned it back, pretending to be asleep when they entered and curled together in front of the door.

He laid awake for a long while.

Maybe tomorrow he would go his separate way from them and try and look for Carol, or they could all go together. There were words hanging on his tongue that he wanted to say before it was too late, too.


	11. Chapter 11

Ch. 11

Thank you all so much for reviewing! I hope you like it!

* * *

><p>They left the shack in the middle of the night anyway. Nearly fifteen walkers came out of the woods and started growling around, and they were still too drunk to do much of anything but panic.<p>

While him and Merle worked out an escape plan, Beth poured out three jars of moonshine then set a match to it. With the walkers, him, and Merle distracted by the blaze on the front porch, Beth knocked out a window and threw a lid at them to get their attention. Even being drunk, she managed to save their asses, and she got to burn the son of a bitch down like she wanted to.

When they were a good distance away and the sun had started to rise, they stopped to rest.

"Little pyro," Merle said as he settled against the base of a tree.

Beth turned pink and shook her head. "I got us out, didn't I?"

"That ya did, princess," he agreed and closed his eyes. "Could sure use some more sleep, though."

"I hear that," Daryl said and rubbed a hand over his face. "We need to find a secure place to stay for a few days."

"Do we even know where we are?" Beth asked and leaned her head against him.

He was worried that once the booze wore off, she would be really fucking mad at his ass for all he had said and done the day before, but he wouldn't question the affection until that time came.

"'Bout near Miller's Creek, I reckon," Merle said.

Daryl snorted. "That's south of here. Ya couldn't tell your ass from a hole in tha ground."

"Fuck off," Merle muttered. "I'm tired. Ain't got my bearin's."

Daryl snorted. "Porter's a little north of here. They ain't got much, but they got that bait and huntin' shack. Maybe it ain't been hit up yet. It's got that flat roof, too. We could sleep up there and finally all get some solid rest."

"If it's even there," Merle said and straightened his legs out in front of him.

"There's no guarantees anythin' is left anywhere," Beth said quietly.

"Only one way to find out," Daryl grunted as he stood up. "Got another coupla hours ahead of us."

Slowly, Beth and Merle stood up and began following behind Daryl. He hoped for all their sakes that the shop would be in one piece.

* * *

><p>A break finally came their way in the form of the old hunting and fishing store in Porter.<p>

It was nothing more than a portable building with an AC unit in one window, but it had extra arrows, fishing poles, and knives. There were four rifles, several boxes of bullets, and two sleeping bags.

Beth almost cried when she found several packages of beef jerky still sealed. It might have gone out of date a year ago, but her momma always said if it hadn't been opened at all, some things lasted a lot longer than their "best by" date.

Jerky was one of them apparently.

That first night, she and Daryl unzipped one sleeping bag and laid it flat then used the blanket they had in their pack to cover up with, while Merle took the other sleeping bag for himself. They laid on the roof, and for the first time in weeks, they slept the entire night.

Beth had never felt so rested or full. Or at least she couldn't remember the last time, and she didn't actively try because that would mean going back to the prison, and she didn't want that, even in her thoughts.

It was beyond comforting to wake up to Daryl curled around her again. The words they threw at each other hurt, but at least they had gotten it all out and finally moved past it. She knew she hadn't touched the full loss of her daddy yet, and she might not unless she found Maggie, but she had gotten a good bit of the pain and anger off her chest.

During the week that they stayed at the tackle shop, Daryl took her out, and they worked on her hunting and tracking. Merle fished. They rested and got their strength back along with a little boost in morale.

She had been so sad the morning they left it behind, but Daryl held her hand in his and led her forward. Beth knew the only way to survive was to keep going so she took courage in his grip and put one foot in front of the other.

* * *

><p>They had been moving through the woods a few hours when Daryl had her start tracking for them.<p>

Merle laughed a little when she got turned around, but for the most part, he chewed on a cinnamon stick behind her and Daryl.

"Whatcha trackin'?" Daryl asked and pointed to the ground.

She sighed and stared at the forest floor. "Looks kinda zig-zaggy." Beth peeked up at Daryl. "It's a walker."

He smirked and nodded. "Go on then." And waved his hand in front of them.

She followed the tracks to an open meadow and found a walker eating on something. She took her bow and slowly stepped forward, keeping it in her sights. Just as she was about to release the arrow, a crushing pain hit her ankle and caused her to crumple to the ground.

The walker turned and started walking toward her. Beth released the arrow, hitting the walker in the jaw.

Before she knew it Merle was charging forward, stabbing his knife hand through its head and Daryl was sliding up beside her, pulling the trap off her foot and ankle.

"Fuck," he muttered and grunted as he pried the jaws open. "Ya alright? Do ya think it's broken?"

"Definitely not broken," she whispered. "I broke tha other ankle when I was twelve. I know broke. This is just sprained or bruised, but it hurts a whole lot."

"I fuckin' bet," he said. "You're lucky it was so rusted. It didn't pack nearly as much force as it should've."

"Can ya walk?" Merle asked.

She turned her head and looked up at him. "Yeah. I'll just be a lot slower."

"It just so happens we got all tha time in tha world, sugar." He answered and held out his hand. Daryl stood up, too, and they both helped her stand before Daryl put a steadying arm around her waist.

They continued on, barely moving it felt like, for at least another hour. The trees broke again and a cemetery lay in front of them.

Beth sighed and said, "Can we rest for a minute?"

Daryl looked from her to the funeral home across the cemetery and slid his bow around front. "Hop up."

"Are ya serious?" She asked with a hint of laughter in her voice.

Daryl bent down a little and nodded. "It's a serious piggy back, arrow."

She grinned and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Smooth move, Darla." Merle laughed and walked past them.

Beth jumped up and Daryl caught her behind the thighs. "You're heavier than ya look," he mumbled.

"Shut up," she said and leaned her head down against his shoulder.

"Ya think anyone's there?" She asked.

"If they are, I'll take care of 'em."

"They might be good people."

Daryl paused for a moment then said, "I don't think tha good ones make it."

Beth sighed and looked toward the tombstones as they passed. One caught her eye and she tapped his shoulder and started to slide off his back.

_Beloved father._

She stared at those words for a long time before Daryl's movement caused him to turn her head. He placed some yellow flowers on top of it, and Beth sent him a sad smile. "Thank you."

Once they were side-by-side again, she linked their fingers together while Daryl stayed silent. It was a silence for everyone they had lost, but it was the funeral her father had never gotten. And for a moment, Beth wondered if Daryl was right and the good ones didn't make it after all.

* * *

><p>The funeral home was spotless, and full of food. The doors and windows were all boarded up, too. They could make it here for a while. It was secure, and the woods were close enough that him and Merle could go out and hunt.<p>

They needed this windfall. Beth's ankle was swollen and tender. It would be at least a month before she would actually be able to run full speed again.

Daryl breathed a sigh of relief as he locked up the front door. Things were starting to look up.

He found Merle and Beth sitting at the kitchen table, sharing a jar of peanut butter. Daryl grabbed the jelly off the table and stuck his fingers in while Beth made a sound of disgust.

"Use a spoon, Daryl," she said and slid one across the table to her. He ignored it and ate some more.

He felt guilty, but the last thing he wanted was Merle to open his mouth. The little twinkle in his eye let Daryl knew there would be hell to pay if he touched that spoon.

After a few seconds Merle looked away. "I think I'ma head into a few of tha nearby towns. Might be gone a little while."

"Why?" Beth asked. "We just found a safe place."

Merle started picking at the table with his fingernail, and Daryl could feel the tension coming off of him.

"Thought I'd try and find Carol."

Beth sight softly and reached out and laid a hand on Merle's arm. He tried to pull away, but she held on.

"Okay then," she said quietly. "Ya gotta be safe, though. No hero bullshit. Check in every other day if ya can."

"When'd ya become my mother?" He muttered.

Daryl watched as Beth looked between the two them. Her eyes looked so tired. "I'm not. I guess I've just gotten used to havin' ya around."

"Must be my sterlin' personality."

Beth cleared her throat. "Must be." She put down her spoon down and stood up. "I think I'm gonna go lay down. I'm pretty beat, and my ankle hurts."

She stopped by Daryl and kissed his cheek, lingering just a little longer than she usually did in front of anyone.

Once she was up the stairs, Merle looked to Daryl and said, "Ya got a good one." Daryl shrugged. "Ya need to own it. I don't think it's bad to have it now. Before? I thought it was a load of horseshit, but now, I think we need it to keep on."

"That why ya goin' to track down Carol?"

It was Merle's turn to shrug then.

They sat in silence for several minutes before Merle said, "There's only three people in this world that'd I'd do somethin' stupid and die for." Daryl lifted his eyes and looked over at his brother. "Two of 'em are here. Just makes sense to bring tha other person here, too."

Merle chewed on his bottom lip for a second then said, "I knew what she did. I found her after, thought no one would put it together. She was messed up over it."

"I imagine," he said quietly, his mind reeling from what he just heard.

"Just gotta try," Merle spoke just as softly.

Daryl nodded with a grunt and stood up. "I'ma head to bed."

That made Merle smirk. "'Sides, you and blondie need some time to yaselves. Bet your balls are blue."

Daryl shook his head, for once happy for the near dark. He could feel the heat in his cheeks and didn't want to hear Merle's laughter.

"'Night," Daryl ignored him and turned for the door.

"Night, baby brother."

* * *

><p>Merle slipped out right before daybreak.<p>

He had a rifle slung over one shoulder and his sleeping bag strung across his back.

He could set snares and scavenge for food, plus he had taken Beth's last pack of beef jerky. She would be pissed but tough shit. She had off brand soda and pig's feet.

He took a quick look back at the funeral home and hoped like hell it wouldn't be the last time he saw it.


	12. Chapter 12

Ch. 12

Thank you all so much for reviewing! I hope you like this!

* * *

><p>Daryl knew as soon as he hit the bottom step that Merle was gone.<p>

He sighed and hit his palm against the railing.

Carol killing those two people was a bad fucking deal, but she was his friend, and he knew that she hadn't done it for the thrill or out of a maliciousness. She had done it to protect everyone. Granted, it wasn't the best way to handle the situation, and they would have followed after him, but there was no way Beth's ankle would allow for that.

"Daryl?"

He turned and looked up the stairs at Beth before giving her a tight smile then said, "Looks like we're gonna be waitin' for him to get back."

Beth nodded and looked down. "I just hope he's careful. He can be reckless."

"I know."

* * *

><p>Beth stopped wondering if Merle was dead at the end of the first week, and started to realize he was probably being a pain in the ass since she had demanded that he keep in contact.<p>

When that was squarely put away, she felt a bit of the guilt on her shoulders lessen. It seemed liked instead of actually accomplishing anything practical, her and Daryl had spent a majority of their time in the upstairs bedroom. Along with one particularly memorable incident when he was laying in a display coffin after she got done singing at the piano.

It hadn't all been easy, though. Their first night alone had been awkward to say the least. She immediately reached for him when he laid down beside her, but he tried to keep her at a distance, always pulling back. Beth wasn't about to push him for anything if he didn't want it, so she gave him one last lingering kiss then rolled over.

Daryl stayed motionless for a few beats before he turned and wrapped his arm around her, pressing his erection against her butt.

"I want ya," he whispered. "I just ain't got nothin'. It was all in my other pack at tha prison."

Beth nodded. "I know. This is good, too," she said and linked their fingers together over her stomach.

That night he fell asleep with a hard on and she went to bed aching for his touch.

The next night, and each one after that, had them giving in, though. Not all the way, but when she got to hear him groan low against her skin, it was almost as good.

_Almost._

* * *

><p>Daryl sat beside her at the kitchen table, looking over all the food they had eaten, and Beth said, "What if they're not comin' back?"<p>

Daryl picked up the last jar of pig's feel and shrugged. "Then we stay here a while. It's safe. Got good vantage points. We could make a home here for a bit."

Beth felt the corners of her lips twitch up. "I do like it here."

"Good," he said quietly. Then, much to her surprise, he leaned over and kissed her softly. "I like it here, too."

The security line out front jingled and Daryl shot up and picked up his crossbow. "Stay here," he ordered and walked out of the room and into the hallway.

He peeped through the slates over the glass door front as Beth watched. He snorted. "Just a damn dog." Then he opened the door before reaching down and starting to call for it. "Stupid mutt," he said and stood back up, looking at Beth. "Thought I told ya to stay back," he said with a scowl.

"But, Daryl, ya said there was a dog." She shook her head and smiled. "How could I _not_ come see him?"

He waved his hand in front of him and said, "Get your ass back in there and finish eatin'."

Beth turned but her ankle buckled a little and she winced. Before she knew it, Daryl had picked her up and was carrying her into the kitchen.

"I can walk, ya know?" She laughed as he sat her down.

Daryl shrugged and took his seat again, pulling it a little bit closer to her. "It's gonna be dark soon," he muttered and looked around the room. "Need to go lookin' for some more candles or somethin'."

"Why?" She asked and nudged his shoulder with hers. "Ya wanna stay up late with me?"

The tips of his ears turned pink and snorted. "Just need some light s'all. Gotta have some way to see around this place."

"We should set somethin' on fire," she said as seriously as she could manage, causing Daryl to snap his head in her direction. "I'm just kiddin'."

"Don't know what goes on in your mind half tha time," he said quietly. "Just tryin' to keep my head above water."

Beth narrowed hers at him and asked, "I make ya feel like you're drownin'?"

"It's a good drownin'." His voice was soft, and he stuffed a spoonful of jelly into his mouth right after he said it.

Beth bit her bottom lip then pushed her chair out a little.

The man was too sweet and cute for his own good, and what was even worse was that he didn't realize it.

Sometimes he would let his guard down completely and send her a crooked grin that Beth was addicted to. She loved his gruff laugh. She adored how he had gotten comfortable over the last week and was finally losing the tension in his shoulders. She ached for him to follow her upstairs and love on her again then let her do the same to him.

The funeral home became their bubble, and even though Merle was off—God knows where—they still felt safe.

Beth brushed the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip then grabbed the spoon from Daryl. He looked ready to say something but stopped really quickly once he met her eyes. He screwed the lid back on the jar of jelly then sat it off to the side. Once it was out of the way and the spoon placed on the counter behind them, Beth moved to straddle his lap.

"Whatcha doin'?"

Beth shrugged and hummed like he always did when he didn't want to use words, but Daryl shook his head. "None of that bullshit. Tell me what ya want."

Beth leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. "You," she whispered. "Just you."

He let her kiss him again, this time gripping her hips in his hands and pulling her closer to him. They kissed for a long time with her rolling her hips against his before he spread his hands over her bottom and stood up.

He sat her down on the counter and a hand slipped under her shirt while the other messed with her jeans.

Daryl tugged them down her legs and once they were bunched around her boots, he sucked two fingers into his mouth, wetting them, making her moan at the sight, then pushed her panties to the side and parted her lips. Daryl groaned and took her lips again as he started to pump his fingers in and out.

She felt electric in those moments, especially when he curled his fingers up and against some spot inside that she didn't know how to find herself.

Her hands were twisted in his hair and she had moved from his mouth to kissing and sucking on the skin of his neck. This put his mouth by her ear and every exhale and grunt made her clench a little around him.

Beth toed off one boot, ignoring the shooting pain in her ankle. Daryl had turned his face into her neck and was trailing wet, bruising kisses down the side and trying to push his hips against her. She wanted him like that and she would gladly take a little pain in order to wrap her legs around his hips.

When she did just that, he cursed and pulled away before reaching down and undoing his jeans and pushing them down just enough to free his erection. It didn't matter how many times she had seen him naked or touched him, she still sucked in a little breath at the sight of him taking himself in his hand and stroking a few times before he let her take over.

She wasn't going to replace his hand with hers this time or her mouth. Instead, she shifted her hips and tugged her panties down to dangle with her jeans on one leg the grabbed him again.

"Good lord," he muttered then bit her bottom lip. "Ya sure?"

"Yes, please," she said in a breathy whisper as he trailed the head of his dick over her clit. He nodded and Beth watched as he looked down, staring as he made another pass over her skin before pressing just a little inside.

Daryl licked his bottom lip then went a little further before pulling out and doing it all over again. He seemed lost in the sight, and Beth had to admit that watching his actions and the intent look on his face had to be one of the most erotic things she had ever witnessed.

Daryl raised a hand to the side of her neck and rubbed his thumb over her skin. "Ya like it," he said quietly.

She didn't deny it. The gasps and groans that had been escaping her lips told him all he needed to know.

"Fuck," he mumbled on a small down stroke, letting himself go just a bit further in and teasing her just a little more. "It's so damn good."

"Keep goin'," she whined and Daryl groaned loudly as he slid all the way inside.

He kissed her as he began moving his hips. When he started to end the kiss and move back, she sucked on his tongue and his pace faltered. Daryl pulled away altogether and leaned their foreheads together.

"Watch," he said with a gasp as his hips met hers.

Beth looked down and took in the sight of him disappearing into her body then pulling out, her wetness coating him. She tilted her hips a little, trying to meet him faster. His hand on her hip tightened and he pulled her leg further out, opening her up more.

"Sonofabitch," he groaned and started to laugh a little. "You're gonna make me come."

"I'm not even doin' anythin'," Beth whispered. "You're doin' all tha work."

"Ya don't gotta do a damn thang," he said and picked up the pace again. "It's just you. Everythin' about ya," he finished in an almost whimper.

Beth grinned and tightened a hand in his hair and brought her other hand to her mouth, mimicking his motions from earlier, she licked the tips of her fingers and slid them down to where they met.

Daryl's breathing hitched and he slammed into her forcefully. Her fingertips slipped over her wet, swollen skin as she started to feel that familiar tightening in her stomach. Beth gasped as she fell over the edge, the fingernails of her free hand biting into the back of Daryl's neck.

His response was immediate, and he yanked himself away from her, almost making her fall off the counter, as he came in spurts against the inside of her thigh. "Damn," he sighed and collapsed against her.

Beth ran her hands over his back and traced the top part of the angel wings on his vest.

"That was really, really good," she said with a smile.

"It sure as hell was," he agreed. "Don't know why I tried to put that off."

"You were bein' careful." She said as Daryl stood up and straightened up his jeans. Daryl nodded and helped her down.

"I love ya," she said and kissed him softly.

He looked at her intently, and Beth sucked in a soft breath when she realized what he was fixing to say. Just as he was about to speak, the jingle of the security wire made them both look up suddenly.

The moment was gone when he turned back toward her and Daryl looked away. "I'm gonna give that mutt one more shot," he said as Beth pulled her jeans back up and slipped on her boot.

She cringed a little but Daryl didn't notice. He was too busy getting the pig's foot out of the jar. Daryl went out of the kitchen, and Beth followed slowly with her smile still planted on her face.

She turned the corner as Daryl pulled open the door only to try and slam it shut against the small herd of walkers that were on the other side. "No," she whispered and started to run for the door, helping him push it closed.

"Run," he whispered. "Go!" He yelled and tried to push her away.

Beth ran to the wall and tossed him his bow. "I'm not leavin' ya!"

"I'll meet ya at tha road," he said, and the herd behind the door finally pushed hard enough to move Daryl and make him stumble a little.

She ran back through the kitchen then down the hall with Daryl on her heels.

"Get your shit! Pry open a window," he hollered as he led the walkers away from her and down to the basement.

Her ankle screamed in protest as she hopped from a window with their little backpack on her back and her bow in her hand.

Once she got down, she started for the road, dodging walkers left and right. On the dirt road, she couldn't dodge them anymore and had to fight off a couple of them. Her knife was all she had since she didn't have enough time load and shoot the bow.

She had managed to take down two when a third she hadn't seen grabbed her arm from behind, she flung her other arm around to stab it when it fell suddenly.

At first she thought it must have been Daryl, but soon she realized how wrong she was as she stood face-to-face with two men in police uniforms.

Beth backed away, looking for Daryl.

"C'mon, darlin'," the one on the left said. "Don't be that way. I just saved your life."

"I appreciate your help, but I can take care of myself," Beth said.

"Ya owe us," he said and the other officer stepped toward her.

She tried to run but between her ankle and the man grabbing her hair, she fell to the ground.

Beth held tightly to her knife as she tried to slash at the man behind her, but a fist slammed into her face causing her vision to blur, and she lost hold of the hilt. She kicked her legs as hard as she could, but the man was on top of her, and he pulled her head back before slamming her head into the ground twice.

She blacked out and woke up as she was being dragged toward a car down the road. Beth struggled against their hold but her head still swam and she had no weapon.

"Let her go!" Daryl's voice cut through the fog and she got pulled up to her feet with cold metal pressed to her temple. "Let her go now, and I'll let y'all walk away," Daryl barked out.

"Don't really see how ya have any leverage," the man holding her said. His hand slipped from her shoulder toward her breast where he let it rest for a second before squeezing. "Ya shoot at me, ya either hit her or hit me then I shoot her."

Beth's vision cleared enough to locked eyes with Daryl, and she tried to get out of the man's grip. He squeezed her breast harder and pressed the gun into her temple with more force.

"Don't be like that," he whispered into her ear. Beth fought against the urge to pass out and slumped a little in her attacker's arms.

Daryl looked like he was about to take his chances and shoot at the man when they all turned their head at the gurgling sound to their right.

The other officer had fallen to his knees, clutching at his throat as blood spilled over his hands. The man's hold eased up, and Beth dropped to the ground right as an arrow pierced his eye and went straight through his skull.

Her stomach rolled and Merle took two steps to catch her before she landed on her face.

"I got ya, girlie," he said quietly, and Beth let the darkness take her.

* * *

><p>Merle grabbed her pack and bow after Daryl picked Beth up and clutched her to his chest.<p>

"Get in tha back of tha car," Merle ordered.

His brother nodded and went to the car and loaded Beth in, getting in right behind her.

He was pale and shaky, and Merle was equally terrified. Had he decided to stay in Griffin searching instead of coming back to rest, Daryl would be dead and Beth would wish she was.

He took the guns off the cops and retrieved Daryl's bolt. He stopped at the man with the slit throat and spit on the ground beside him. "Rot in hell," he said to both of the men then went to the driver's side door.

Once he was inside, he looked back at Daryl who was cradling Beth close to his chest and Merle ignored the wetness under his eyes.

He turned around and looked over the car, noticing the map of Atlanta with a _Grady Memorial Hospital_ highlighted on it. He shook his head as the radio squawked. "Gorman, report in."

It was a female voice, and she sounded pissed.

Merle took a deep breath and picked up the radio. "Gorman ain't gonna be able to talk to ya no more."

The line went silent for several seconds, and Merle cranked up the car and started driving. The walkers had gathered around the two dead men and started eating them, and Merle was ready to get out of there.

"Who am I speaking with?"

Merle snorted. "None of your damn business. Who tha fuck do ya think ya are tryin' to send your men out to steal people? Just what did ya need from my brother's woman?"

"We need help to sustain the community in which we live. If they saved her life, they would demand repayment." The woman was detached and cold. Merle knew the type too well.

"And as long as ya let 'em have a go with tha prisoners, they let ya think you're in charge?" Merle asked as he pulled out on the main road. The woman didn't answer and Merle cleared his throat. "Tell ya what, sweetheart, ya better be glad that I don't take my ass to Atlanta and burn down your fuckin' hospital. Keep that shit in mind in tha future. Y'all are gonna fuck with tha wrong people one day."

The woman started to speak but Merle turned the CB off and pressed his foot on the gas, getting them as far away from the funeral home as he could.


	13. Chapter 13

Ch. 13

This chapter moves us along. I hope you like it.

* * *

><p>Merle drove through the night, looking back every once in a while to check on Beth and Daryl.<p>

Beth was in and out of consciousness for a while before finally being able to sit up on her own. After the sun rose, they had to stop a few times for her to throw up. Concussions were a bitch that way. Daryl would hold her hair when she puked and try and get her to drink water, but when he looked at Merle, he shut down.

Merle wondered why, but then figured it was because he didn't like to be seen as weak or that he'd let her get hurt. It didn't matter, though. He knew Daryl, and Daryl wasn't the kind of man that would have gone down without a fight.

When the car finally ran out of gas at a crossroads, Merle got out and looked around the area. There were some train tracks in front of them and a really nice house off to the right. If they needed to, they could probably stay there the night then head out in the morning.

"Merle?" Beth called his name very softly and squinted against the sunlight as Daryl helped her out of the car.

"Yeah?" He asked and reached out an arm to steady her as she walked forward.

She hugged him then, tighter than he could ever imagine and whispered, "Thank ya for comin' back."

"I's always comin' back," he muttered and pushed her away gently. Daryl pulled her to him and looked up at Merle. "Y'all coulda taken care of yaselves. Don't go makin' me out to be somethin' I ain't."

Beth nodded but the smile she sent him told Merle that she could see straight through his front. He was just about to suggest staying in the house when a group of men seem to appear out of nowhere right behind them.

* * *

><p>The leader was the different kind of guy.<p>

Daryl knew that the moment he locked eyes with him.

He analyzed the three of them before his eyes settled on Merle's knife hand. "What tha fuck happened there?"

"It was in my way," Merle answered with a shrug.

The older man smirked and nodded. "We're gonna need your weapons and maybe tha girl."

Daryl had to fight back the urge to charge the man and lay his ass out. Merle wasn't so calm, though, and when one of the group members walked forward to take his gun, Merle slammed his the metal part of his knife hand against the side of the man's head, downing him in an instant.

The others drew their weapons and Daryl raised his bow. "Let's just slow down," he said and tried to hold up Beth who had slumped a little. "Take tha weapons and tha packs, but ya ain't gettin' her."

"I'll beat y'all both senseless then make ya watch what we do to her then I'll kill ya both and take her anyway," he said easily.

Daryl lowered his bow and acted like he was going to sit it on the ground at the man's feet, but when he walked forward, he swung up with all his might, knocking the man backward.

He pulled his bow back up and aimed. "That's a nice weapon," he said to Daryl with a laugh. "Been lookin' for one just like that."

"Well, I changed my mind, ya ain't gettin' it."

The man studied him for a moment then he looked to Beth and Merle. "Name's Joe."

"Daryl."

"Ain't ya gonna introduce us?" Joe asked and waved his hand toward the others.

He stared him down for a second then said, "My brother, Merle, and my wife, Beth."

"Wife?" Joe laughed. "So that's what they're callin' it nowadays."

Beth cleared her throat and opened her eyes. "I am. He didn't do anythin' I didn't deserve," she lied way to fucking easily and his nostrils flared a little at the thought of someone laying a hand on her. Beth moved to the backseat of the car. "I need to lay down," she said and slipped into the car.

Joe looked around the group and smiled. "This is how I see it. Y'all can come with us or we can kill ya both here and just keep everythin' else for ourselves."

Daryl looked to Merle. His lips were a thin line and his jaw was tense but he nodded anyway. "Fine," Daryl said. "She ain't in no shape to be movin', though. Got a fuckin' concussion."

Joe shrugged. "She'll walk or you'll carry her, but we're movin'."

* * *

><p>Beth was shaken awake, and she smiled at Daryl before closing her eyes again. "I need ya to get up and follow me."<p>

"No, ya lay down with me," she said quietly, her words were slurred even to her own ears.

"Beth," he said her name and shook her again.

This time she sat up and put her hand against his cheek. "Ya were gonna say ya loved me last night," she heard herself whisper and Daryl's eyes closed. She looked past his shoulder to see the group of men standing over by the train tracks and tensed up, remembering everything all at once.

"Just take your bow and stick close," he said. "Kill anybody that touches ya and run. Don't worry about me and Merle. We can handle ourselves."

Without a doubt, Beth was still woozy, but she would have to pull it together if they were going to get out of this alive.

"How ya doin', darlin'?" Joe asked as she stepped out of the car, slinging her bow over her shoulder.

"Fine," she answered softly and squinted her eyes against the sunlight then followed after Daryl.

They all walked to the train tracks and went west. After a couple of miles, Merle asked, "Why Atlanta?"

Joe smirked. "We're trackin' a walkin' piece of fecal matter that killed one of our friends."

Merle hummed in response and nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

The rest of the day they walked in silence, but Beth knew she was getting stares from the men walking behind her. Daryl would touch her shoulder every now and again, but when she looked into his eyes, she saw his desperation and had to look away.

Merle was never far from her either, but he didn't touch her at all. When she thought about it, she wondered if it was a conscious decision. That way the other men knew that he wasn't with her like that. Maybe it was his way of offering another layer of protection.

When they set up camp that night, Daryl laid down their stuff at the edge of camp. He sat down and pulled her between his legs with her back to his chest while Merle sat down beside them.

"Gonna run?" He asked in a whisper.

"First chance we get," Daryl answered back.

The sat in silence as the other men ate and talked. Beth tried hard to stay awake, but her head throbbed. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep with her head against Daryl's shoulder.

* * *

><p>He didn't move her, and he didn't sleep at all. He gripped his knife the entire night, waiting for someone to try and take her from him.<p>

When the sun started to rise, he gently woke her up and nodded his head to the woods.

"Let's go find somethin' to eat."

Beth followed him into the woods, holding her bow at her side. When they were a far enough away, he asked, "Your head okay?"

"Yeah. It's sore, but I don't feel as sick to my stomach anymore."

He nodded and looked at the ground before heading off in a different direction. A rabbit had been through recently, and that would be good for her to have.

Her footsteps were light behind his, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

_She was still there. _

He stopped and looked back at her then said, "C'mere." Beth walked to stand in front of him and she smiled at him. Daryl gave her a short kiss before he said, "We ain't never fuckin' again."

"What?" She asked with her forehead scrunched up.

"First time, everybody got sick. Second time, the prison fell. Third time, ya almost got kidnapped and were beaten then we found these assholes. We ain't never fuckin' again."

Beth watched him for a few seconds before she broke out into a loud laugh that she covered up just as quickly as it came out.

"I love ya," she said. "Even with thangs so up in tha air, I cain't help but think about how much I love ya, Daryl."

He felt himself grin a little. "Let's get this rabbit."

Nearly an hour later, he had it in his sights. Beth wanted to try, but when she concentrated too hard, her head would start hurting worse.

Right as he pulled the trigger, a second arrow flew right beside his face. He turned and immediately caught the stare of one of Joe's men. He was the one who had been eyeing Beth across the campfire when he thought Daryl was sleeping.

"Claimed," he said and walked to the rabbit.

Daryl took off for it, too, and got their first. He threw the other guy's arrow out in the to the woods and held onto his own before walking back to Beth. "Let's go," he said and pushed her forward.

"That's my cottontail," he said from behind them.

He grabbed the legs and pulled and Daryl turned, pulling his knife from his sheath.

"Now, let's just wait a second," Joe's voice sounded from their left.

Everyone turned but Daryl didn't drop the rabbit.

"It's mine, Joe. I claimed it."

"Me and Beth have been trackin' this thang since sunrise. It's ours."

Joe looked between them. "He don't know tha rules, Len. Cain't fault a man for rules he don't know." With a smirk, Joe took the rabbit from their hands and chopped in in half against a nearby tree. "Ass end's still an end."

Len stomped off and Daryl looked down at the half of rabbit that had been tossed his way.

"It's no good now," Beth whispered, remembering what he taught her about some organs tainting the meat if they got cut when cleaning the animal.

Daryl looked over at her and shook his head for her to be quiet, but Joe walked to stand in front of her.

"I ain't stupid. Ya ain't his wife, and he sure as hell didn't put his hands on ya. Not with how he was hangin' onto ya all night. I know men that beat their women, and he ain't one of 'em."

Beth set her jaw and didn't say a word.

"Y'all are together, and I can respect that. All ya gotta do is play by my rules, sweetheart, and in a few days, I'll let ya walk outta here scot-free."

Daryl closed the distance between them and pulled Beth to his side. "Whatcha want?"

"Just some helpin' findin' this guy. That's all." Daryl looked back at Beth who shrugged. "Play by tha rules and find this guy, and in a few days, off ya go."

"What're tha rules?" Beth asked from behind Daryl.

"If ya want somethin' 'claim' it. It stops things from goin' Darwin every five minutes. Once it's claimed, it's yours and yours alone." He looked back and Beth and raised an eyebrow at Daryl. "Next is don't lie. Ever. I'm lettin' yesterday slip 'cause ya didn't know us, but from this moment forward, ya tell a lie, ya pay tha bill."

"And what's that?" Merle asked from out of nowhere.

"A beatin'," Joe answered. "The severity of which depends on tha offense and tha general attitude of tha day."

"She cain't be walkin' around for hours at a time," Merle said and shook his head. "She needs to rest."

Joe eyed him curiously for a second then said, "What do ya propose then, big brother?"

"Let 'em go, and I'll help ya find whoever it is your dealin' with."

"No," Beth said before Daryl could even get it out. "Absolutely not."

"It ain't your choice," Merle said firmly.

Joe watched Beth, and he shook his head. "All of ya stay until tha deal is done."

Before they could challenge him again, he walked back in the direction of camp.

"We're fucked," Merle said and sighed. "He ain't never gonna let us go. We're gonna have to kill 'em."

"Or sneak off in tha middle of tha night and find a car and haul ass outta this area," Daryl said and reached for Beth's hand. Their fingers twisted together, and he pulled her back to camp. "Right now, we play tha game."

* * *

><p>The moment they had entered camp, Daryl pulled Beth in front of him and said, "Claimed. She's mine. Any of y'all touch her, I'll kill ya."<p>

That made Joe smile and laugh. "Ya heard tha man, Little Bo Peep over there is off limits now."

"I didn't know we could claim her!" One of the men said angrily. "I'd have done that last night! Thought we was sharin' her."

"Not this time," Joe said and picked up his pack. "We got bigger shit to worry about right now than gettin' pussy. We gotta get tha man that killed Lou. Now that Daryl's claimed her, y'all can all worry about tha asshole we're followin'."

"Didn't say shit about not lookin', though," Len said and drug his eyes over Beth's body.

Merle looked over every member of the group.

Before this was all over, every single one of them would be dead.

* * *

><p>That afternoon, they found an abandoned auto garage to bunk in, but they were the last ones through and all the cars were already claimed.<p>

A balding, fat fucker leaned against the side of the truck that was his for the night and looked to his brother and Beth and said, "Ya let us watch her blow ya, I'll let ya have tha truck."

Daryl straightened up, and somehow Beth knew not to touch him, not to let them see she had any type of control over him at all. She just looked at the ground and wrung her hands together.

Merle watched as Daryl walked across the cement floor to where the man stood, a friendly smirk across his face. "Ya wanna watch her suck my dick?" He asked evenly.

"Hell yeah," the man answered. "Ain't watched a porno in a long time, and sure as hell never seen one right in front of me."

"But she ain't tha first girl ya've thought about like that since all this shit started," Daryl stated. "She ain't tha first ya've taken against her will."

"I didn't rape that bitch," he said and shook his head.

"I bet ya've thought of it a million times since y'all found us." The man shrugged a little. "That's where it's gonna stay, too," Daryl said quietly then he backed up and went to Beth who was trying to seem unaffected.

"Watch your shit, Daryl," Merle said as they laid out their sleeping bags.

"I'm gonna gut everyone of these mothafuckers," he whispered. "You're sleepin' between us, girl." Beth laid down on the sleeping bag and curled into a little ball.

Only once that night did Merle get up, the rest of the time he laid a forearm's length away from Beth, staring at her and Daryl in the darkness, and listening for any sound that might have signaled the attack was coming.

If there was one thing he was sure of, it's that something was going to happen between them, and it was going to happen soon.

* * *

><p>Daryl followed Beth outside so she could take a piss and Merle walked over to the tool rack on the far side of the garage. Everything was pretty well picked over, but he found a flat-head screwdriver in a drawer. Worst came to worst, he could give it to Beth, and she could stab someone in the neck with it.<p>

Once he was back over at their bags, Beth and Daryl walked in through the door and started gathering up their stuff.

"It's gone," Len said loudly. "That bastard took my rabbit!" He came rushing across the open space between the cars at Daryl, and he immediately pushed Beth over to Merle, and Merle pushed her behind him.

"Didn't touch your rabbit," Daryl said and shook his head.

"It's gone! You're tha only one with interest in what I had."

Daryl shook his head again, and Merle could see the anger brewing behind his eyes. "Didn't take you're fuckin' rabbit."

"Now, boys, we got a bit of a predicament here. Len says ya took it. You said ya didn't. Guess tha only way to find out for sure is to look through your bag, Daryl," Joe said and picked up the pack he shared with Beth. Daryl reached for it, but Joe pulled it further out of his reach then dumped the contents onto the floor.

Sure enough, there was a rabbit head mixed in there.

"Ya sonofabitch!" Daryl hollered and started for Len. "Ya put that there! Ya waited until I went outside like some fuckin' pussy."

Len stood his ground and Joe looked between them. "Now, Len, this is a big offense. Are ya sayin' Daryl stole your rabbit?"

He met Daryl's eyes and nodded. "Yeah, he stole it from me."

Joe sighed. "Ya sure ya ain't some dirty, lyin' cop?" Len looked up at Joe and his eyes widened. "Teach him a lesson, boys," he pushed Len into the group of men. "Teach him all tha way."

As the group went to beating the fuck out of Len, Joe turned and tossed the rabbit to Daryl. "Let this be a lesson to ya about followin' tha rules."

"How'd ya know I was tellin' tha truth, and he wasn't?" Daryl asked.

"I saw him do it," Joe answered.

"And ya were just gonna let it play out," Daryl said disbelievingly.

"Examples are always the most helpful way to teach a new concept to people. Remember that."

He walked away, and Beth went to pick everything up and put it back in their pack. Merle watched as she tuned everything out and worked. Once it was all put away, she went to the door and stepped outside, never once looking back.


	14. Chapter 14

Ch. 14

Sorry for the long break! This weekend was crazy!

I hope you like this one.

* * *

><p>They threw Len's body outside the garage right before they left the garage. Beth had a moment of weakness where she wanted to cover him up, but at the last second, she changed her mind.<p>

Daryl didn't say anything about it and neither did Merle, but she could tell they were worried she had snapped a little, and maybe she had.

Every single man in that group was a terrible person, both before and after the end of the world. A person didn't learn that kind of evil or give in to it once everything went to shit. It was the kind of bad that simmered in your soul and tainted everything around you.

With all that in mind, Beth kept a bolt ready in her bow and the sheath of her knife unbuttoned. If they were going to try something after they found this man they were tracking down, she was going to kill as many of them as she could before they got her.

Merle and Daryl watched her cautiously, and when no one was looking at them, Merle stood behind her and put something in between her belt and her jeans. "Just in case they take your knife," he whispered.

Her hand automatically went to the new weapon, a screwdriver in between her belt and jeans, and she nodded.

Night settled in, and instead of setting up camp, Joe told them to push forward. "We ain't never gonna catch this bastard if we sleep while he sleeps and move when he moves."

The three of them had slowed their pace and were at the back of the group when they heard the signal that they had found who they had been looking for.

"Let's go," Daryl whispered. "They found whoever it is."

"Wait," Beth whispered and looked him in the eyes. "We know these people. They're liars and killers. The person we've been trackin' could be just like us."

Daryl and Merle sighed and exchanged a quick look. "We'll check it out. See if it's someone like them then we decide from there," Daryl said and nodded over his shoulder.

When they made it to the others, Beth froze in horror as she saw Rick, Michonne, and Carl sitting in front of a fire.

Daryl caught Beth's arm and whispered, "Stay back."

Her horror turned to terror in a split second as he stepped forward and said, "Hey, ya ain't gonna do this. These are good people."

Merle raised his knife hand and stepped behind a man who was too interested in the scene Daryl was causing to notice. Beth pulled out her knife and moved closer to the man on her left. Right as she moved into position, the man who asked to watch her and Daryl picked up Carl and started to lean into his neck, dragging his nose against him.

Beth's heart pounded in her chest. She didn't even know what Joe said, but as soon as the man in front of her moved toward Daryl, she stepped out of the shadows and stabbed him in the throat.

* * *

><p>Her hands were shaking when it was all over, and she stared off into the distance. She knew that Rick was on the other side of the truck in a similar position. He was shaken because his son had almost been raped in front of his eyes, and he ripped a man's throat out with his teeth. Beth was shaking because she had taken her first life, and she didn't feel guilt at all.<p>

"Here," Daryl said and handed her a bottle of water and his red rag. "Ya alright?"

She nodded.

"I'm gonna talk to Rick for just a second then I'll be back, okay?"

"I'm good," she spoke in a soft voice. "Check on him."

He rounded the truck again and Merle sat down beside her. "Ya sure you're alright?"

Beth paused for several seconds and looked over at him. "Have ya ever killed someone that didn't deserve it?"

Merle tightened his jaw and looked away. "Yeah. I've killed good people."

"Do ya feel bad about it?" She asked and watched as he turned back toward her.

"Sometimes."

"Why only sometimes?"

He shrugged and looked at his knife hand. "Tha good people I killed were so I could stay alive in tha long run. Sometimes I feel bad that I'm here and they're not. Sometimes, like last night or tha night at tha funeral home, I'm glad I killed 'em 'cause if I hadn't've, then y'all'd be dead."

Beth sighed and nodded. "You're a good person. You're just a little rough around tha edges."

"I'd kill anyone who tried to hurt y'all," he whispered. "Y'all are tha only family I got left."

"Ya might be my only family, too," she said and closed her eyes, fighting back tears. "I might be tha only Greene left."

"Then I guess you'll just have to go by Dixon. Finally bring some polish to tha old family name," he joked and stood up.

Beth didn't know what to say, but she watched him walk to the open truck door and peek in on Michonne and Carl. He said something really soft so Beth couldn't hear before moving around to where Daryl and Rick were.

One day, after they found someplace safe, she would tell Daryl that his brother proposed for him.

* * *

><p><em>Terminus. <em>

_All those who arrive. Survive._

Daryl thought it was a whole bunch of bullshit, Merle didn't like it, and Beth seemed wary, but hopeful.

Rick thought it could be the answer to everything, and that maybe some of the others had gone there, so Daryl figured they could at least go and see what it was.

After scouting the location briefly, they left the majority of their weapons in the duffle bag in the woods before hopping the back fence. Everything was quiet and there didn't seem to be anyone on guard duty.

That instantly made him feel uneasy. A place as big as Terminus with chain link fences needed protection and people on watch. A herd of walkers could take down fences like that quick.

He desperately wanted to keep Beth safe, and if this place offered that, he would be grateful, but these people would know they needed better protection, especially if his group could get as far as they did without meeting a single soul. If it was another Woodbury, he would tear this place apart. Beth had experienced way too much shit in a short period of time, and Daryl needed to finally do something right. He'd be damned if he opened the proverbial door again and let something fuck up their lives.

As they walked through an open door, they saw a group of people milling around, making the signs that had been along the railroad tracks, and there was a little old lady broadcasting something over the radio. It dawned on him that he had heard what she was saying on the radio months ago but couldn't make out until now.

"Oh, hey." A young guy stepped forward as they walked toward them. "You could've used the front door. That's where it looks the best. Back this way is where the grunt work happens."

"Yeah, we'll we wanted to see y'all before y'all saw us," Rick said and looked around.

"You're cautious. That's good," the same guy said. "I'm Gareth."

The group continued to stare for a moment then he shook his head. "Just lay your weapons down for a minute, and we'll check you over and show you to the front."

Slowly, everyone laid their weapons down while another guy ran over and started patting them down to make sure that was all they had.

"Wow, y'all are really beat up," the kid said as he checked Daryl over for weapons. He looked at Beth who stood beside him. "Y'all do this to each other?"

"No," she whispered.

"Guess I don't wanna see tha other guy then?" He tried to laugh and break the tension.

"No, you wouldn't," Rick said and raised an eyebrow at the young guy.

"Tha guy who did this is long dead," Beth added and met his eyes. Whatever the kid saw there must have scared him a little because he backed away and went to Merle next, which was worse than dealing with Beth. Merle knew how to press everyone's buttons.

"If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the front. That's where the welcome wagon is. From there, you'll get a tour, and we'll show you what we're all about here."

They followed behind Gareth silently. Daryl looked over everything they passed. The huge empty rooms, the tiny walkways made between the roofs above them, the potted plants that started lining the sides of the buildings as they got closer to the front gate.

The woman manning the barbeque pit smiled when they walked up. "I heard ya came in tha back. That's smart," she said and picked up a plate of food. "We've got lots."

Daryl gripped Beth's hand and tugged her to his side. They had lots of meat, but Daryl didn't see any animals. He did see people sitting at tables across from him, though, and when Rick caught his gaze Daryl nodded.

That was his poncho across the way. Glenn's riot gear on another. A pocket watch chain hanging from the kid's pants that had checked them for weapons.

Everything happened fast, and when Rick moved Daryl raised his bow, Beth did the same a split second after.

"Where did ya get this watch?" Rick asked with his gun pointed at the young guy's head.

Gareth stepped forward and calmly said, "You want answers or anything else, you'll get them when you put the gun down."

Daryl met Rick's eyes and tilted his head up. Rick followed his line of sight and said, "I see your man on the roof. How good's his aim?" When Gareth wouldn't answer, Rick asked again, "Where'd ya get tha watch?"

People from the tables started making their way to the barbeque pit, and Gareth shook his head. "Don't do anything. I have this."

Daryl watched as they backed off and the snipers seemed to ease their posture.

"Where'd ya get tha watch?"

Daryl felt that this was the last time Rick was going to ask, and he wished he could have taken better care of Beth. Protected her from all this.

"I got it off a dead one. I didn't figure he'd need it," Gareth lied effortlessly.

"What about tha riot gear? Tha poncho?"

"Got the riot gear off a dead cop," he said and shrugged like he was stating something anyone should have realized. "Found the poncho on a clothes line."

"Gareth, we can wait," the young guy said from in front of Rick.

"Shut up, Alex," he said.

Rick tightened his hold on Alex and looked to Gareth, "You talk to me."

"What's left to say?" Gareth said and held his hands up for a moment. "You don't trust us anymore."

"Gareth," Alex said again.

"Shut up," Gareth said, still staring down Rick.

"Gareth, please!"

Finally, Gareth looked to Alex and said, "It's okay." Then looked back to Rick. "What do you want?"

"Where are our people?" Rick asked, his voice turning colder than Daryl had ever heard it.

"You didn't answer the question," Gareth said then quickly moved back as the bullets started flying.

* * *

><p>They ran into a room lit with candles and writings and small knick-knacks all over the place.<p>

"What tha fuck is this?" Daryl mumbled.

Beth squeezed his hand hard and whispered. "It's a memorial."

They wasted no time finding the exit, but as soon as they got back outside, the gunfire started all over again.

They raced through the train depot, trying to stay in a group at first, but quickly realizing that they were being herded in the direction that Gareth wanted them to go. Daryl grabbed Beth's arm and pulled her close behind him as the bullets bounced off the pavement.

The noise was going to bring down a fuck ton of walkers, and there was no way they would be able to get out through the woods if that was the case. Merle ran on his other side, watching the people on the roofs.

"These people ain't tryin' to kill us," Merle yelled.

"No, they're not. They're aiming at our feet," Rick said and shook his head as they came to a dead end.

Beth was panting and held on tightly to his hand as Gareth came into view again.

"Drop your weapons. Now!" The all paused for a second before laying them on the ground. Gareth looked to Merle and pointed at his hand. "That too. Take it off and put it on the ground."

Merle took a deep breath, reining in some smart-ass comment, before unbuckling his knife hand and laying it to the side and kicking it away.

"This is how it's going to work. The kid and blondie, move to the side." Beth's eyes widened, and she took a step closer to Daryl while Rick latched onto Carl's arm. "The train car. Go. You do what we say and the kid and the girl will follow you. Anyone else makes a move, and they'll die, and you still end up in the train car."

Beth pried her hand away from Daryl. "It'll be okay," she whispered. He met her eyes, and she sent him a shaky grin. "Hey, I love ya. I'll be right behind ya."

Once she was away from the group, Carl joined her and she wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"Good," Gareth yelled down to them. "Now, you'll go in this order. Ringleader, archer, samurai, and blade."

Daryl should have been more focused on their surroundings and how to get out of that train car they were being led to, but he couldn't take his eyes of Beth and the shooters poised beside Gareth and on the roof.

"My son!" Rick yelled as he reached the steps.

Gareth looked to Beth and Carl. "Go, kid." When Carl got to walking, Gareth continued, "Ringleader, open the door and go inside."

"I'll go with him," Rick said and waited on the bottom step for Carl.

"Don't make us kill him now," Gareth said in tired voice.

Rick looked back at Daryl who nodded at him. He would watch out for Carl until he was inside the train car.

"Now, go on, archer," he said and pointed to the steps as Carl went inside.

Daryl clenched his jaw and pointed back at Beth, not saying a word.

"She'll go next," Gareth assured him.

"Let her go first. I cain't do shit anyway, right?"

"A man who knows when he's been beat." Daryl didn't move or speak. "Go on, blondie."

She walked past Daryl and as she did, he grabbed her hand and tugged her along and up the stairs.

It took him a few seconds to adjust to the darkness, and by that time, Michonne and Merle had entered the train car and the door and been shut behind them. He had Beth wrapped in his arms, shifting them from side-to-side.

"Rick?"

Daryl pulled away and looked into the far end of the train car.

One by one, he made out their faces, and Beth rushed from his arms to Maggie, hugging her tightly. Glenn was to her left and Sasha and Bob on her right with a few other people standing in the back.

"I knew ya made it out with him," Maggie said and rocked Beth.

"I knew y'all did, too, but we never found tha bus, and we couldn't go back to track anyone."

Glenn stepped forward and pointed out the people they didn't know. "These are friends. They helped us."

"Then I guess they're our friends, too," Daryl said and looked over the group.

Merle walked over and stood at his side.

"You always seem to make it out of the shittest situations," Glenn said and looked away.

"What can I say," Merle said and held out his hands from his side. "I live to make your life hell."

Rick shook his head and walked to the door, peeking out through the small opening. Beth walked back to Daryl's side and hugged his waist. Everyone was quiet for a several seconds. He imagined they were in same boat as him, confused and mad as hell.

Finally Rick voiced everything they were feeling. "They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out," he said quietly, his eyes narrowing as he watched what was going on outside.

"Find out what?" One of the new guys asked.

Rick turned to face the group, and Daryl saw the same look in his eyes from the night before.

"They're fuckin' with tha wrong people."


	15. Chapter 15

Ch. 15

Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing!

* * *

><p>It was an unspoken agreement that any catching up would be done while they tried to create weapons from whatever they had in the train car.<p>

Sasha asked if they had seen Tyreese, but no one had.

Merle asked if anyone had run into Carol, but no luck either.

Beth was going to ask about Judith, but when she saw the way Rick and Carl stood stoically as everyone discussed their missing family members, she knew that something terrible had happened.

"What happened to your face?" Maggie asked as she worked their daddy's pocket watch chain into the side of the train car to carve out a sharp spike of wood.

"Got ambushed," she answered quietly and looked around, as everyone tried to fashion weapon out of something. Her shirt hung low enough that they never noticed the screwdriver in her belt, so she reached back and took it out, holding it at her side.

"By who?" Her sister pressed, but Beth didn't want to talk about it. She hadn't even fully processed it herself.

"A couple of guys. Merle and Daryl killed 'em."

Maggie stopped and met Beth's eyes. "Did they…" She trailed off and Beth knew what she was asking.

"No, but they would've." She looked over at Daryl who was keeping watch. It was the furthest he had been away from her since they got locked inside.

Maggie put the watch away and sighed. Beth looked up at the sound and saw tears filling her eyes.

"We cain't yet," Beth whispered. "We cain't think of it. Not until we're outta here."

She nodded and wiped her eyes. "I know. I just—God, Beth. Thangs fell apart so quick."

"Yeah," Beth agreed and took her sister's hand. "They sure have."

* * *

><p>Daryl was watching the movement around the train cars. They had split into groups of four and some were headed their way and the others to train car further down the line.<p>

"Got four of them pricks headed this way," he said and took a few steps back and over to Beth.

"Y'all know what to do," Rick said. "Go for their eyes first. Then their throats."

They banged against the railcar door and Daryl pushed Beth a little further behind him. "Step away from the door and move toward the ends of the car."

He watched the door intently when a hatch lifted on top of the car and someone dropped in a small silver canister.

The Army guy, Abraham, saw it and immediately yelled, "Move!" And pushed anyone near him away as the canister exploded and smoke filled the space.

The loud noise threw him off, and Beth got pushed to the side of the car. His head was spinning as he saw a man enter and grab her arm.

"No!" He shouted and ran forward, smashing his forearm against the man's face.

He took a swift kick to the back of his knees and fell to the floor. "We wanted you anyway," the man said as he hauled him up.

Daryl fought against his hold, but ended up thrown from the train car and landing hard against the concrete. His vision blurred as they zip tied his hands behind his back and another man gagged him.

Daryl's breath was coming out in harsh pants as he tried to get his bearings but was pushed toward a building instead. Once inside, he saw four other men already line up, kneeling beside a trough.

Glenn got pushed to his knees first then Daryl beside him followed by Rick and Bob.

He pulled his wrists and the plastic bit into his skin as he struggled to free himself. Others were trying to get free, too, but it wasn't working. He heard the crack of a bat against bone and looked down the line just in time to see one of the butchers pull up the guy by his hair and slit his throat, blood spewing forward, and they slumped him over the edge of the trough as he bled out.

He thought he was having a heart attack as they proceeded to work their way down the line. His wrists were bleeding as he tried to get out of the bindings, and he thought about Beth. She was locked up in that train car, and if he didn't get out, she would wind up just like him, and that was something that he couldn't let happen.

Daryl Dixon wouldn't go out like some fucking cow at a slaughterhouse.

"Hey!" The voice from the door made everything pause and the douchebag that ran the place walked through the door with a journal in his hands. "What were your shell counts?"

The men in charge of the killing started talking, and Daryl knew they didn't have much time. Glenn was next on the chopping block, so they needed to work fast.

It was at that moment that Daryl looked to Rick who was moving his hands just like Daryl was, but he caught the flash of wood working against the zip ties and swallowed hard.

Out of his peripheral, he saw the man draw back the bat again, and he flinched to the side a little as Glenn curled forward.

"I need your shell count," Gareth said again and the man stopped and started apologizing about it being his first go or some shit.

Daryl had almost gotten his thumb through the restraints and once he had that the rest would follow easily. He had skinned it deep enough to bleed, but it didn't fucking matter.

When he thought they were going to start back up, Bob started moving around, talking and Gareth came forward and removed the gag. He began pleading for their lives, saying that Eugene knew about a cure, that the world could change, but Daryl saw the resolve in Gareth's eyes. This man had nothing left inside of him that would listen to the pleas of his captures—his food.

The zip tie caught on the hangnail of his thumb, and he wanted to beat his own ass for the nervous habit of biting them. Now, he would have to tear off his fucking nail just to get out and try not to flinch in the process.

He was about to do just that, when Gareth turned to Rick.

"We saw you go into the woods with a bag of weapons. You came out without the bag, so we want to know where you stashed and what's inside."

Rick didn't speak and Gareth pulled Bob forward, a knife at his eyeball. "What was in the bag? I'm curious. It was a big bag, Rick."

"I'll show ya," he said quietly.

"Not gonna happen."

The look in Rick's eyes was the same one that he had the previous night with Joe's group, and Daryl didn't think that, even if they got away, it would ever leave him. The man was not who he used to be. Neither was Daryl, but someone had shifted in Rick completely, and if things went the way he hoped, Gareth would feel that same wraith soon.

"There's guns in it," Rick said, his voice flat. "AK-47. Forty-four magnum. Automatic weapons. Nightscope. There's a compound bow," he paused and tilted his head to the side and finished, "and a machete with a red handle." Another small pause and he looked directly at Gareth and said, "That's what I'm gonna use to kill you."

Garth laughed. "Thanks."

He stood up, and Daryl went back to removing his hand from the ties, his thumbnail, tearing as he did. He was almost free when gunshots sounded from the outside, and Gareth barked out some orders and ran from the room, the two men in charge of killing them were stunned by the noise and the sudden explosion that rocked the building.

Rick was up on his feet, slitting one of their throats. The other man came at Rick with the baseball bat, and Daryl pushed off the trough with his chest and stumbled to his feet.

With all the force he had left, he tucked his shoulder and jumped as the man passed him, hitting him right in the stomach.

They landed and the man tried to push Daryl off, but someone grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged him away.

He saw that it was Rick and relaxed. Then watched as Rick picked up the baseball bat and beat the man on the floor until his head was caved in.

Rick cut the rest of them loose, and Daryl picked up a long knife to use as they left the building, and Glenn went toward the first man Rick had killed. As soon as he raised his knife to drive it through his skull, Rick spoke, "Leave 'em. Let 'em turn."

* * *

><p>She screamed Daryl's name and tried to run for the door, but a strong arm circled her waist and pulled her back.<p>

She looked to her right and saw Abraham pulling Maggie from the door, too.

"It's gonna be okay, blondie," Merle said against her ear. "That dickless bastard ain't gonna be able to take him down."

She shook her head and whispered, "No," over and over as she gripped Merle's arm.

"Let go, girl," he said and shook her off once the door was shut.

Beth looked down and saw that she her fingernails had broken the skin and little crescent shaped bloody lines stood out against his forearm.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"S'okay."

He went to the wall and went back to working on pulling out a riveted piece of metal.

Everyone seemed to be lost in their own world as their attempts to make weapons became more frantic.

Beth still held onto her screwdriver, but she went to the wood edge Maggie had been working on to try and pull it out and hand it off to someone. Once she got there, though, she saw that someone else had already taken it.

It was a few minutes later, after the silence became so heavy that Beth thought she was going to suffocate, that Eugene started talking about a way to blow open the door.

He was quickly shut down by Maggie.

"My dad's gonna be back," Carl said in a strong voice. "They all are." He looked over at Beth as he said that and then turned back to the door.

"We better be ready," Michonne said and took a deep breath.

A few seconds passed and as if on cue, they heard gunfire from outside the train car. Beth sighed and Merle walked to her side and nudged her shoulder.

"Ya stay behind me, ya hear? He'd kill me if I let ya end up dead."

Maggie eyed him before turning away, and Beth said, "I can take care of myself, Merle. Ya know that."

"Yeah, but we ain't never been in this position before."

More gunfire and an explosion that almost knocked the railcar over, and everyone was chomping at the bit to get out.

"Walkers'll come without a doubt," Carl said.

"Son a fuckin' dick," Abraham muttered and tried to pull on the door. "We gotta get outta here."

That moment, the door opened and Rick hollered, "Let's go! C'mon!"

She saw Daryl who had a long knife, fighting off walkers that had already managed to get in the yard and ran toward him. She put her screwdriver through the head of a walker that was almost on his back when she heard a growl over her right shoulder. Before she could turn and kill it, Daryl put his knife through its head.

"I could whoop your ass," he said and pulled her along behind the group. "Never worry about me. Get yaself out."

She shook her head and dodged walkers as they made their way to the fence. He didn't get it, but Beth thought maybe he did sometimes.

Without him, there wouldn't be much left of her.

* * *

><p>Merle followed after the group, and it became pretty clear that the good people of Terminus weren't on their tail, but the stray walker definitely was.<p>

No one slowed down or looked back. They barely paused long enough to retrieve the bag of weapons before starting to run again. When Rick felt they were far enough away, Merle guessed, he stopped and everyone stood there catching their breath.

Merle was leaned up against a tree, watching as Beth leaned against Daryl whose hands were shaking as he hugged her to him.

He wasn't sure he ever wanted to know what went down in that room they had taken him to.

A branch snapped behind him, and he turned to look and make sure it wasn't a walker. Nearly everyone sucked in a surprised breath at the same time, and Merle's strides ate up the distance between him and Carol.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, pulling her tightly against him.

"Ya miss me?" She laughed quietly.

Merle nodded and sat her down before leaning his head against her shoulder. Carol brought up her hand and stroked the back of his neck.

After a few seconds, she moved away. "Figured ya'd need this back," she said and pulled his knife prosthetic from her bag.

"Yeah." He took it from her and Rick came up beside them.

"Was that you?"

Merle's heart was beating harshly in his chest, and he thought about all the things he had wanted to say to her.

She passed Daryl his bow, and he hugged her first before he took it, slinging it over his shoulder then took Beth's hand again.

"C'mon," she said and nodded her head to the side. "There's some people that wanna see ya."

She started walk, and Merle stood there watching. He should have felt an overwhelming happiness, but the dull look of Carol's eyes made him pause. If he had changed during his time away, it was certain that she had, too.

And it didn't look like it had been a good change.


	16. Chapter 16

Ch. 16

This chapter is like therapy for everyone involved. I hope you like it!

Also, this is going to be where we start leaving the series a little.

* * *

><p>Beth woke up to Judith crying and tears welled up in her own eyes.<p>

Everyone was back together, plus some new additions, and that beautiful little girl was crying. Beth opened her eyes against the tears and watched as Rick rocked her back and forth. She quieted down a little but didn't stop fussing. He had been very quiet since he got her back that afternoon.

Beth felt Daryl move behind her right before he spoke. "Ya wanna hold her, don't ya?"

"Yes," she breathed. "I don't want to interfere, though. He just got her back, and he's got more claim on her than I do."

Daryl flinched at the wording, but didn't say anything about it. "He ain't been asleep yet. Go ask him if ya can take her and sing to her or somethin'."

Beth rolled over to face Daryl. The old church they had found wasn't exactly the most comfortable, but they were all so tired and happy to be together again that it hadn't mattered. Their little pallet was against the far wall, away from the others, and behind some pews.

"Ya think?"

He nodded and kissed her softly. "Go on, arrow. Get those fuckin' baby cuddles ya been dreamin' about." She smiled wide and stood up.

Beth weaved her way through their sleeping group until she got to Rick. He watched her for a second then shrugged. "I can give it a try if ya want?"

He must have seen the hopefulness in her eyes because his grip eased up on Judith and he passed her over. "She'll prolly go right to sleep for ya. Carl always wanted his momma when it was night time."

"I'm not her momma," Beth said quietly and met Rick's eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said and shook his head. "I'm just worn out."

Beth reached out and touched his arm. "I know what ya meant, and I love her. It just makes me sad that I'm here when her momma should get to see her grow up."

"Yeah," he said. "Me, too."

They stood together for a little while on the altar before Beth said, "Ya know, it ain't your fault what happened. To Lori or to tha prison."

"It falls on my shoulders."

Beth nodded and sighed. "That's tha funny thang about you and Daryl, ya think your shoulders are a lot bigger than they really are."

He huffed and put his hands on his hips. "What're ya tryin' to say?"

Judith turned her face into Beth's neck, and she cuddled her closer. "Nothin' really. Just, ya cain't always take tha blame, especially for thangs ya had no control over. Sometimes bad thangs happen, and we just gotta pick up and try and go on. My daddy woulda never wanted ya to feel such guilt for him. Neither would Lori. Look at us, Rick," she whispered and her eyes searched the room. "We made it."

"Not yet."

Beth shrugged. "I count this as a win."

She peeked down at Judith who was sleeping. "She's out again. Looks like you'll get to rest before we head out."

Once Judith was handed back over, he asked, "Ya get Daryl to forgive himself?"

Beth shook her head. "Nah, the hurt'll always be there, ya just gotta make room for it." Andrea's words escaped her lips and she felt a pang of saddness. "Ya just cain't let it weigh ya down. There's too much good still here."

When she made it back to Daryl, he raised his arm up, and she slid under the blanket beside him.

"Get tha snugglin' out?" Daryl asked against her shoulder.

"Nope," she said and wiggled back against him.

Daryl laughed softly and tightened his grip around her. Within a few minutes, she slipped into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>"So, you and Daryl seem to be attached at tha hip," Maggie said the next morning as they sat around the campfire outside the church. Daryl had gone out into the woods for a minute, and Maggie took that opportunity to pounce on her.<p>

Beth didn't mind it at all. She had missed Maggie, and Maggie had missed her, but there was guilt behind her eyes that always made Beth pause.

"You and Glenn are, too," Beth said quietly and smiled at her. "I understand why ya looked for him, ya know that, right?" She met Maggie's eyes and sent her a reassuring smile. "We didn't exactly make tha best effort in lookin' for y'all either. There was so many dead ends. Hell, if Daryl didn't have a good idea where to look for y'all, then how were y'all supposed to find us?"

Maggie didn't say anything, but she squeezed her hand. "I keep seein' daddy in my dreams," she whispered.

"I do, too," Beth replied and looked at their twined fingers. "Ya think he knew that we'd be okay?"

Her sister nodded. "He knew we'd take care of each other, and he trusted Glenn and Daryl with our lives. I think he was at peace."

Beth nodded. "I'm gonna miss him so much. I haven't really let myself think about it, but now that we're back together, I am, and it hurts."

"Yeah," she whispered back. "It hurts so much."

Daryl came back at that moment and sat down on the other side of Beth. "Ya makin' her cry or tha other way around?" He asked Beth.

"A little bit of both," she answered. "We were talkin' about daddy."

Daryl hummed. "He was a good man."

Beth leaned her head against Daryl's shoulder and held onto Maggie's hand. "He'd be happy we're all together again."

"Yeah," Maggie said. "Maybe it was him pullin' tha strings?"

Beth opened her mouth to say something, but Abraham stood up and cleared his throat. "We need to talk about where we go from here."

Beth looked over at Daryl who was staring down the man. Him, Rosita, and Eugene were new. They weren't family, and as far as she was concerned, any debt to them had been paid after they got out of Terminus alive.

"Y'all all know that Eugene can flip the switch on this thang. We just have to get him to D.C."

"Well, right now, we don't have any way to make it that far," Rick said with a shrug.

"We can find transport," he said in that gruff, agitated voice of his.

Rick looked around the yard, and Beth knew his decision before he said anything. She turned and whispered to Daryl, "Looks like we takin' a road trip."

"Ain't never been outta Georgia before." He kept his eyes on Rick, and Beth leaned up and kissed his cheek. She thought he would turn red like he normally did, but instead, he turned his head a little before she moved away and kissed her lips softly. "First time for everythin' I guess."

"Yeah," Beth said through her own blush. "I guess so."

* * *

><p>Merle had been keeping to himself, and he knew that no one really noticed. Daryl was all wrapped up in Beth and being free again.<p>

Carol was lost in her own head, and he could tell that the space she had put between her and Tyreese was tense. Merle had tried to talk to her about it, but she avoided him. His final chance came when everyone was eating that night, and he watched Carol slip away.

He put down his can of beans and followed after her, only to find her at the car Daryl had mentioned them finding earlier that day.

"What're ya doin'?" He asked as he stepped out of the darkness.

She looked at him and sighed, defeated. "I don't know."

"What happened?"

Carol leaned back against the trunk of the car and shrugged. "A lot."

"Ya can tell me anythin', and ya know I won't judge ya for one fuckin' second."

She nodded, but closed her eyes tight like she was trying to hold it all inside. "We lost tha girls. Almost lost Judith."

"Figured as much."

"Merle," she paused and met his eyes. "Lizzy stabbed Mika in tha heart. She wanted her to change so that we'd see that tha walkers are okay. She was about to stab Judith when Tyreese and I came back from pickin' up some pecans. We thought they would be safe inside the fence."

"Holy shit," he breathed out.

Carol started crying, wracking sobs and Merle knew what happened Lizzy. He didn't hesitate to walk over and wrap her in his arms.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. So fuckin' sorry."

She cried until the front of his shirt was wet with tears, and they were rocking back and forth.

"Ya know it ain't your fault. That girl was messed up."

"I shoulda seen it. I had this feelin' in my gut," she said quietly. "There was somethin' off."

"Ya couldn't have ever imagined that, Carol. Don't for one second put that on yaself."

She pulled away. "I told Tyreese what I did at tha prison after we buried them."

Merle tensed up and looked down at her. "Did he do somethin' to ya?"

Carol shook her head and started crying again. "No. I even gave him my gun."

"Christ Almighty," Merle said, his heart thundering in his chest. How close had she come to dying and him never seeing her again?

"He said that he forgave me, Merle. He _forgave_ me." Carol shook her head. "How can he do that? How can he just let me get away with it?"

It all clicked into place, and he shook his head. "Do ya wanna be punished? Is that what this is? Ya leavin', banishin' yaself this time 'cause ya think ya need to be held accountable for what ya did?"

"Don't I?" She asked. "Rick did tha right thing by sendin' me away. I don't deserve to be with this group."

"That's fuckin' bullshit, and ya know it. We've all done tha worst kinda thangs to stay alive. We've all made mistakes. Ya wanna tally up whose killed more innocent people between you and me and figure out who really needs to leave?" He asked and started pacing. "Ya think that _you_ deserve to be tossed out like some fuckin' piece of trash for protectin' your people? I killed a boy in cold blood, left his fuckin' body in tha middle of tha woods. I helped kill a unit of National Guard soldiers so we could steal their fuckin' guns and caravan. Ya wanna compare who should be where? Then move outta my way 'cause it's me that needs to leave."

Carol stood there in shock. "When?"

"When I's at Woodbury, for tha Governor. Tha boy I killed 'cause I lost Michonne and didn't want to end up on tha receivin' end of a bullet myself. I coulda let him live, but I didn't."

"Those people didn't trust you," she whispered. "Tha people I killed trusted me to keep them safe, to look after them."

Merle shook his head. "It don't matter. A life is a life, and tha people back at that camp want ya there. If Tyreese wanted ya dead, ya'd be dead."

"So, what?" She asked. "I just gotta keep carryin' on?"

"If ya don't, there ain't no point to any of this. If ya haven't noticed, it's tha end of tha world. Either you're gonna do what ya gotta do to survive, or ya just give in."

"I don't wanna die," she said and looked toward the woods.

"Neither do I," he said back and walked closer to her.

Without a second thought, he reached over and took her hand in his. Merle didn't know what he was expecting. Maybe for her to yank her hand away and leave him standing there, but she didn't. She squeezed his hand tight and looked up at him.

"I missed you," she said quietly.

He took a shaky breath and brought his other hand up to her face only to have her dodge out of the way. Merle closed his eyes and dropped his knife hand back to his side. "I got a fuckin' knife for hand," he muttered.

Her hands were on his cheeks then, and he barely had time to react before her lips settled over his, pressing softly, making him tremble just a little. When she moved away, he opened his eyes and saw her small smile.

There was a bubble lodged in the middle of his chest and words that wanted to escape his lips, but all he could do was stare.

* * *

><p>When they made it back to the church, it was a pure chaos.<p>

Tyreese was dragging out someone's body and Judith was crying. Merle met his eyes as he passed, and there was nothing but horror in them. Inside, there was blood over portions of the wooden floor and altar. Rick stood with his machete at his side, blood splattered across his face.

Daryl was off to the side, pulling an arrow from someone's skull, and the others were huddled in what used to be the preacher's office.

"What tha fuck happened here?" Merle asked, looking over every one of their people. He barely caught the flash of blonde hair pacing, as Beth tried to get Judith to quiet her screams.

"We warned 'em," Rick said. "It's their own fault for followin' us out this way."

Merle got closer to him, and was finally able to make out what used to be a person. "That tha kid from Terminus?"

"Was," Rick answered.

"Ya've done lost your fuckin' mind," Merle said and shook his head.

"They were gonna kill us and eat us. We did what we had to do."

Merle looked over at Daryl who was leaning against the wall, staring at the floor. "We gotta clean this shit up. Walkers'll come."

Finally, Judith quieted down, but Beth didn't leave the office. Daryl laid down his bow and walked to where he knew she was, and Merle started helping Tyreese toss out bodies with Abraham.

Eugene was trembling in a corner and Michonne was out scouring the woods with Carol to make sure there was no more wandering around.

"What happened?" Merle asked again once they were outside.

Abraham looked to Tyreese who shrugged. "Daryl heard 'em movin' around outside. He snuck out tha back and heard 'em talkin'. They were thinkin' about followin' you and Carol, but Gareth wanted Rick, so they planned on comin' in tha front and killing us. If it wasn't for your brother, we'd all be dead."

Merle shook his head.

"He came back in and got Beth and the kids into tha office with me, Tara, and Eugene. Then they all snuck out tha back door to come around on 'em."

"Sonofbitch," he muttered.

"It wasn't good for either end, but Gareth made it worse by callin' out for tha kids and Beth. He was goadin' and pushin', thinkin' he had the upper hand, threatenin' to burn tha church down, except we were tha only ones inside. Rick, Daryl and tha others came up behind him, and the rest just…" he trailed off and stared into the darkness.

Tyreese looked like he was about to cry, and Merle put a hand on his shoulder and straightened him up as Abraham walked away. "Ya gotta put that conscience away. Ain't a damn thang that coulda changed this. There are bad people that ya gotta kill, and sometimes, there are good people that end up dyin' a long tha way. But ya either fight or ya die. They'd've put ya down quicker than ya could blink."

"I don't gotta change," he said and shook his head. "I can still be me."

"As long as ya know that when tha time comes, ya gotta put that fuckin' hammer to use and protect your people."

He nodded, but Merle wasn't convinced that Tyreese would know what to do when that time came, and that scared him a lot more than he thought it would.


End file.
